Hockey Asian Champions Trophy: India looking for an encore vs. South Korea

India vs Korea (Photo: Hockey India) MOHALI: The Indian men’s hockey team carried their winning momentum from the Asian Games into the Asian Champions Trophy, winning all five of their group matches, scoring 34 goals and conceding just five to finish top of the table.It was a thoroughly dominant show from Craig Fulton’s men, who will now face South Korea in the semi-finals on Wednesday as the tournament moves from Jalandhar to the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali.When the two teams met in their final group stage match on Monday, India registered a commanding 8-0 victory. But Fulton expects the semi-final to be a completely different contest and wants his side to approach it with a fresh mindset.“Tonight was a completely different game. We played good hockey, but now we have to start again,” Fulton said.The key question ahead of the semi-finals is whether the India coach will continue to rotate his team. Fulton regularly shuffled his lineup during the tournament in an attempt to manage the player workload after a grueling season.“A lot of hockey, maybe a little too much. We just have to find a way to keep the boys fresh. I think all the Asian teams feel it because they are the only ones who have played the World Cup, the Asian Games and this tournament,” India’s head coach said.But despite the tough schedule, Fulton is pleased with the team’s performance.“We’re playing well, we’re playing good hockey and they’re shooting our penalty corners,” he added.Fulton was also encouraged by the performances of younger players, particularly Vishukant Singh and Angad Bir Singh, who scored his first international goal on Monday.“We wanted to bring in some youngsters and try a few players in different positions. Vish has done well, Angad has done well and with one or two injuries in the squad it was good for them to get more playing time. We will continue to evaluate,” the coach said.