Asia Cup Hockey 2025: India, Korea Play Out 2-2 Draw in Super 4s Opener

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Rajgir (Bihar)
• Sep 04, 2025
• 598

The Indian men’s hockey team opened their Super 4s campaign in the Asia Cup 2025 with a hard-fought 2-2 draw against defending champions South Korea at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium on Wednesday.

Hardik Singh (8’) and Mandeep Singh (53’) were on target for India, while Jihun Yang (12’) and Hyeonhong Kim (14’) scored for Korea in a rain-hit contest that saw both teams miss chances to clinch victory.

India began aggressively despite the delayed start, forcing two early penalty corners. Their efforts paid off in the eighth minute when Hardik Singh carried the ball from midfield, sliced through the Korean defence, and slotted past the goalkeeper to give India the lead.

But the advantage was short-lived. A foul by Jugraj Singh inside the circle handed Korea a penalty stroke in the 12th minute, calmly converted by Jihun Yang. Two minutes later, Hyeonhong Kim’s dragflick from a penalty corner turned the game in Korea’s favour.

The second and third quarters saw India pile on pressure with numerous circle penetrations, but Korea stood firm. The hosts created several opportunities—Jarmanpreet Singh’s angled strike, Sukhjeet Singh’s close-range miss, and Harmanpreet Singh’s dragflick—all denied by resolute defending and sharp goalkeeping.

India finally found a breakthrough in the 53rd minute when Sukhjeet Singh threaded a clever pass to Mandeep Singh, who finished into an empty net to restore parity. Both sides pressed for a late winner, but the game ended level.

With this result, India picked up one point in the Super 4s Pool, where they will next face Malaysia on Thursday.