press trust of india
IPOH, 31 AUG: Their World Cup berth all but secured, a confident India would look to book a direct ticket to next year’s mega-event by winning the ongoing ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament when they clash with defending champions South Korea, here tomorrow.
Both India and Malaysia have virtually qualified for the World Cup to be held at The Hague, Netherlands after South Korea shut the door on Pakistan with a narrow 2-1 win in the first semifinal.
Pakistan, record four time World Cup champions, will be missing the show-piece event for the first time since the inception of the tournament in 1971. Korea having already qualified for the World Cup, Pakistan’s passage to the quadrennial event was possible by winning the Asia Cup.
But their defeat has opened the door for India and Malaysia who will now just have to wait for the official confirmation from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) after the conclusion of the Oceania Cup in November.
But the Sardar Singh (in photo)-led Indian side will be in no mood to wait till November and would be desperate to secure their direct ticket to Hague with a win over South Korea tomorrow.
Having finished a lowly a seventh in the last edition of the tournament in 2009, redemption will also be in the minds of the Indians when they take on Korea tomorrow.
Two-time champions India last won the Asia Cup in 2007 on home soil when Southern city of Chennai hosted the event.
And having defeated Korea 2-0 in the pool stages, the Indians would be brimming with confidence ahead of the summit clash. India, who has so far looked the best side in the tournament, are unbeaten going into the final and they would look to keep their record intact tomorrow.
 In the four matches they played so far in the tournament, India have conceded just one goal while pumped in as many as 21 goals against their opponents. Interestingly, India’s defence, considered as the perennial problem of the team, has been the unlikely hero in the tournament so far.
While the lows of Indian hockey have far outnumbered the highs in recent times, captain Sardar Singh today said the “belief” could return if the team wins the ninth Asia Cup here tomorrow.
The star midfielder said winning a major tournament was long due for Indian hockey and the Asia Cup triumph would infuse new “life” into the game back home.
Japan finsh fifth
Japan eked out a hard-fought 3-1 win over debutants Oman to finish fifth, while Bangladesh managed to avoid the wooden spoon by thrashing minnows Chinese Taipei 11-3 in the classification matches of the 9th Asia Cup hockey tournament on Saturday.
By virtue of this win, Japan finished a place higher than their sixth position during last edition of the event in 2009 while Bangladesh secured the seventh spot in the eight-nation
tournament.
Dark times
Former players on Saturday called for the sacking of Pakistan Hockey Federation officials after the country failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in history. As the beleaguered PHF officials tried to cope with Pakistan hockey’s one of the darkest hours, Olympians and fans have called for immediate changes in the hockey body.
"I don’t understand why the president and secretary of the PHF are taking so long to resign. What more do we have to bear before they step down or are be sacked?" asked former Olympian and captain Shahnaz Sheikh.