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Korea produced a wonderful performance to edge out world champions India 24-23 in a close, thrilling contest in Men's Kabaddi Group A action at the 2018 Asian Games.
India, playing their third match overall, were upset by the Koreans just like at the World Cup. It was a fantastic all-round performance from the Koreans to deal India their first loss at these Games as the Indians rallied late on, but fell just short.
The Indians looked sluggish for the most part as their Korean counterparts looked much the sharper of the two sides and just seemed to want it more. After the win against Bangladesh yesterday, captain Ajay Thakur had said that his team "showed their best performance", but just today against the Koreans they were definitely found wanting.
The result will ideally serve as a good wake-up call for the Indians who can't be happy with their performance today and will now know that an eighth consecutive gold medal is not going to be an easy task.
Here are the main talking points from the game:
#1 Fast start for Korea
The quickness of Korea's raiders helped them to get off to a fast start in this game. Jang Kun Lee and Lee Dong Geon, Pro Kabaddi regulars, proved a tough challenge to keep quiet for India's defence early in this match.
It wasn't necessarily that they were getting multi-point raids, but they just kept putting points on the board through bonuses and quick touch points. The Indian defence couldn't quite keep up with their speed and agility. The right corner position especially was constantly under attack as Mohit Chhillar, Sandeep Narwal had a torrid time.
Time and again, they were caught unawares by the speed with which the Korean raiders attacked. The Koreans also did a great job of not moving around too much. They were very targeted in their attacks; they picked a spot and attacked it.
The Indian defence lacked coordination, leading to a lot of solo tackles that were easy for the Korean raiders to dodge.
#2 India's raiders grounded as Korean defenders steal the show
Despite winning both their games yesterday, India's raiders had a decent, but not great outing. They looked a little sluggish and against Korea today, they were once again put under enormous pressure by a very sharp Korean defence.
The Koreans were brilliant in defence today, especially the cover defenders, who were very quick to clamp down on India's star raiders. Young Chang Ko was particularly brilliant. Ajay Thakur, Pardeep Narwal, Rohit Kumar and Monu Goyat all struggled, much of it due to the Korean defence's efforts. Their dashes were quick and decisive and defended in packs extremely well.
#3 India forced to play with 3 raiders and 1 defender
A good representation of how smartly the Koreans played this game was evidenced by how they kept the Indians in check. They didn't get a single All Out in this match over India, but kept plugging away and never trailed.
Towards the end of the first half, India were reduced to four and the four men on the mat were Pardeep Narwal, Rohit Kumar, Ajay Thakur and Mohit Chhillar - three raiders and just one defender.
From about the 17th minute of the first half to the 3rd minute of the second, Korea used this to their advantage by putting in empty raids and playing on the Do-or-Die, knowing fully well that only one established defender was on the mat for the Indians.
It prevented India from getting close and in the end, those five minutes proved very valuable towards achieving the end result.
#4 India come back in the second, but Korea surge ahead again
Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat brought India back in the second half and they managed to tie the score at 14-14.
However, just minutes later the Koreans re-established a 3-point lead as their defence captured both Rohit Kumar and Pardeep along with a raid point from their star man Jang Kun Lee.
The Koreans never let up their intensity even when India made their expected comeback and put the pressure on the world champions to come up with the goods.
#5 Girish Ernak brought India close, but Korea hold their nerve
India trailed 20-23 going into the final minute and Dong Gyeon Lee came in to raid for Korea. India had just three men on the mat, but all very good defenders in Mohit Chhillar, Sandeep Narwal and Deepak Niwas Hooda.
It wasn't a Do-or-Die raid, but the Indian trio took advantage of a slight lapse from Lee to snap him up, and with it being a Super Raid, it reduced the deficit to just one point. It was a crucial tackle right at the death as just earlier Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat had been caught by the Korean defence.
The tackle revived Ajay Thakur and the captain went in for the final raid of the match with a point to tie the game and anything more for the win. As Ajay attacked the Korean defence held firm and as the seconds ticked down Ajay made one final dash towards the right corner and drew the attention of the left corner defender.
Ajay tried to get a touch and dive back across the mid-line. But he had entered the lobby without getting a touch, so too the Korean defender and a point each was given to the two sides.
Korea 24-23 India.
A tense, tense finish!
