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India defeated South Korea on Monday (August 7) by 3-2 to seal the semi-final spot. They also regain the top spot in the Asian Champions Trophy 2023.
India had a positive start to the game as Hardik Singh made the first circle entry in the third minute of the match. Three minutes later, Nilakanta Sharma scored the first goal of the match. India immediately had another chance when Sukhjeet and Akashdeep penetrated the circle but could not find the target.
In the 12th minute, Kim Sunghyun found the equalizer for the defending champions. The teams ended the first half at 1-1. India's skipper Harmanpreet Singh gave the lead for India by converting the penalty corner. He also became the leading goalscorer of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 with the goal.
At the start of the second half, India extended their lead to 3-1 as Mandeep Singh's reverse flick found the target. In the fourth quarter, Korea won a series of Penalty corners, but they could not convert any of them into a goal. In the dying minutes of the match, Jaehyeon Kim produced a double save and denied India another goal.
Korea's Jihun Yang converted the penalty corner in the 58th minute of the match with a drag flick into the bottom right corner. Korea tried everything to get an equalizer. They even removed their goalkeeper to play with 11 field players in the final two minutes of the match. However, India held their nerves better to win the contest by 3-2.
Malaysia back to winning ways after 3-1 win over Japan
Malaysia, who had a forgettable outing against India last night, bounced back to winning ways by beating Japan 3-1 in the first match of Monday.
Malaysia attacked early, and in the 13th minute, Najmi Jazlan's drag flick helped the team to go 1-0 up. Malaysia found the second goal in the 37th minute of the play. Hasan deflected Saari's pass to clinch the goal.
Japan showed more aggression in the third quarter. They even had multiple chances to score, but they failed to convert them all. In the 52nd minute, Kawabe failed to hit the target from close range to everyone's disappointment.
Malaysia added another goal in the 59th minute as Shello Silverius got the ball past the keeper by deflecting Hamsani's pass from the circle. In the closing minutes of the match, Japan finally found the target, courtesy of Takuma. The match ended 3-1 in favor of Malaysia, sealing the spot for the semi-final.
Pakistan win their 1st match of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023
Three-time champions Pakistan clinched their first win of the tournament after defeating China in the second match of the day. This loss also concludes China's run in the tournament.
Pakistan produced an attacking display and earned two penalty corners in the first quarter. However, they could not convert any of them as the first quarter ended goalless.
Muhammad Khan, with his drag-flick, found the target in the 20th minute of the match. Pakistan missed out a couple of chances to extend their lead in the first half but the team could not find another goal.
After Ahtisham got a yellow card and left the field for five minutes, China scored the equalizer through a penalty corner, courtesy of Jiesheng Gao. Afraz extended Pakistan's lead with a reverse flick in the 39th minute of the match as the team ended the third quarter 2-1.
Pakistan continued to attack in the fourth quarter, but they could not get past China's defense and ended the match at 2-1. With this victory, Pakistan moved to the fourth spot in the points table.
Asian Champions Trophy 2023 result after Match 12
Malaysia 3-1 Japan
Najmi Jazlan 13’ (Malaysia)
Azuan Hasan 37’ (Malaysia)
Shello Silverius 59’ (Malaysia)
Takuma Niwa 59' (Japan)
Pakistan 2-1 China
Muhammad Khan 20' (Pakistan)
Jiesheng Gao 33' (China)
Afraz 39' (Pakistan)
India 3-2 South Korea
Nilakanta Sharma 6' (India)
Kim Sunghyun 12' (South Korea)
Harmanpreet Singh 23' (India)
Mandeep Singh 33' (India)
Jihun Yang 58' (South Korea)
