Korea grabbed the gold medal at the men’s Asian Games hockey tournament in Doha, Qatar. The BDO World Cup semifinalist booked a 3-1 victory over China in the final on Thursday. Korea proved to be the real winner, as the newly crowned Asian Champion was the only team that didn’t lose a match at the Asian Games.
China surprisingly opened the score in the final when Yubo Na put the 1-0 on the scoreboard from a penalty corner in the ninth minute. Korea didn’t have to wait long to level the match as three minutes later Sung Hoon Yoon scored the equalizer.
Korea kept playing offensively and took the lead already in the 16th minute when Woon Kon Yeo made the second Korean goal. The Korean team didn’t lose control over the match and played steadily to the end. Although China was looking hard to level the match, but when S Woon Kon Yeo scored the 3-1 from a penalty stroke with only four minutes to play, the match was all over.
Besides winning the gold medal, Korea gained another present: qualification for the 2008 Olympic Games. Runner-up China is qualified as host of the Beijing Olympics.
Pakistan won the bronze medal with a convincing 4-2 victory against Japan. The Japanese team opened the score after nine minutes through Takahiko Yamabori but Pakistan, who was edged out in a gripping semifinal by China on Tuesday, responded immediately with a penalty corner from Maqsood Adnan. Pakistan went 2-1 ahead just before half time when Abbasi Shakeel scored from open play. A brace of strikes just after the interval from Muhammad Waqas put the result beyond doubt before Yamabori netted his second of the game late on.
Although Pakistan was disappointed not playing the final, the Pakistani are able to leave the Asian Games in a positive spirit as the win over Japan gave Pakistan a ticket to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
India rounded off a disappointing tournament on a high note with a convincing 4-0 win against Malaysia for fifth place. It is the first Asian Games that India’s men have departed without a hockey medal but two penalty corner strikes from Ragunath Vokkaliga at least gave them a consolation success.
Bangladesh defeated Chinese Taipei 5-1 to finish in seventh place.
In Wednesday action, China took the women’s gold medal with a 1-0 victory over Japan in the final. Both teams are qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games. India grabbed the bronze after a win over Korea.
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For women’s classification matches, please click here.
