The Indian team took some time to fire at the Asia Cup 2025 hockey, but now reached the final of the tournament, with Korea now standing between them and the 2026 World Championship.
India started its campaign with a victory of 3-2 over China, but visible a little hangover from their catastrophic campaign Hockey for League. The attackers did not click out at the beginning and the addiction to the talisman Captain Harmanpreet Singh was obvious because he was led by a hattrick around the constantly improving Chinese aspect.
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The victory 3-2 over Japan was more clinical and the team slowly began to join, while 15-0 pounding of Kazakhstan increased the hope that fans were heading to Super 4S.
Beginning at the end of the tournament again raised a lot of questions about the side of Craig Fulton, because they lacked the beliefs against Korea and after the first quarter they found themselves at 2-1.
While the team returned in Rajgir, there were many missed chances and a defensive discipline of India was questioned. Then the game against Malaysia began disastrous because they admitted a goal in the first minute.
But that was a game where the team finally found a connection they had hoped for. India threw the Malaysian side in the second quarter, followed by a strong defensive performance.
The retaliation against China was the best performance of the team competition, When it was on Saturday 7-0 Book your place in the finals. They granted zero criminal corners and had six different goalies on a letter in a statement that would increase the hope of fans.
Meanwhile, Korea is champions, but they had a little up and down the campaign. Wins against the Chinese Tai -Piej and Bangladesh have passed them after a faint performance against Malaysia in the pool phase.
Super 4S started a draw against India, but then the loss of 3-0 to China is on the verge. Everything looked grim when Malaysia was 3-1 on Saturday, but the team created a stunning return that has now introduced them to the finals.
The hero of the night on Saturday, Jaehyon Kim, who made several sensational stops in the last quarter against Malaysia, said the game would end up in a tie and Korea will go to victory.
“If we meet India in the finals, it will not be a tie, but hopefully we can win this match if we meet them in the finals,” Kim said.
India vs Korea: head to head
India has a strong record against the defending Asia Cup champions and wins 10 out of 22 matches that both teams played against each other while lost only two. 10 matches ended up in the draw, 2-2 was the result of both teams last face during the Super 4S phase in Asia Cup 2025.
The last victory in Korea against India was in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final in 2021 through a shootout.
India is trying to keep the consistency in the finals
Consistent performances were something that the Indian team was missing in the last few months. That was something coach Craig Fulton wanted from his part before the start of the tournament and it is something he still emphasizes.
“The most difficult thing in sports is the back-to-back matches,” Fulton said after winning China PTI.
“We have to repeat our performance. But at the same time, the boys are in a good place, playing well and playing for themselves, which is more important than anything else,” he added.
“The hardest part was to get here and now you just need to play a match and not an opportunity, but you have to think about tomorrow. You have to be clinical.”
In order for India to get its fourth Croup Crup, the level of the game presented in the last two matches must continue. The remarkable thing about victory against China was how they got to the flying start and maintained a high print on the Chinese side that did not modify their low -block system.
Korea has shown, especially in the draw against India, that they can put pressure on the host and maintain a strong defensive structure. For India to break it, there will be a key consistency.
They will have to continue what worked for them – playing through the center, maintaining a high press and being absolutely solid at the back.
They all joined the goal
Indian performances in the last two games were so strong that many have forgotten that Harmanpreet has not found a net in the last three matches. His last goal came in 15-0 victories over Kazakhstan during the pool phase.
But since then, the rest of the team has intensified. Hardik Singh, vice -chairman, said that the expected excessive Reliance on HarmanPreet was something that the media and scientists created, and for the team it is all about the show when the captain is not the best.
“I think if we focus on Harman, I think it is a media and outdoor experts, not ours. We play as a team and I think that if Harman does not mean, then we will score our work.
And the Indian team stuck to their words. Abhishek was sensational in advance, while the rest of the front line contributed during the campaign.
Like Shilaanand Lakra and Dilpreet Singh, they felt their presence while Mandeep Singh has quietly left for his work. Sukhjeet Singh was a star among the attackers in this campaign with his constant running on the sides of the teams.
In addition, the midfielders also started to create a habit of gates. The hardship scored the Korea stunners during the Super 4s, ManPreet Singh was on the score against Malaysia and Rajkumar Pal got one against China.
Hardik said he expected to happen during the decisive games, but claimed that the work was still not complete.
“I think we thought of the same thing at our team meeting. When important matches, super 4 and final, then the execution of our attackers and team events should be quite good. So I think the team is doing quite well in this part.”
“The final is against us against Korea. I think we were not so good in the Super 4S match. I think the work is not completed, so we will see the final as decisive.”
And it will be a Do-Or-Die game for India, with the title fame and a secure place for the next year of the World Cup.
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Published on:
September 7, 2025
