S. Thyagarajan

Bangkok: The hockey fraternity is waiting with bated breath for the clash of the top four which will configure the semifinal berths in the Asia Cup women’s hockey championship now in progress here.

India takes on China in a Pool ‘A’ contest that will be followed by the duel between Korea and the reigning champion, Japan.

To visualise the outcome on the basis of the showing in the earlier matches will be churlish. None of the four teams was stretched and actually won without any hassle.

With 28 goals in two matches, India looks comfortably placed despite the sluggish phase initially in both the games. The frontline is now well into a neat rhythm, thanks to the inspired performance of Rani Ramphal in the match against Thailand. More than her individual tally of six goals, it was her ability to trigger pace in the attack along with Saba Anjum and Mamta Kharab, who has been more or less consigned to midfield.

Admittedly, the defence or the goalkeeper has not been fully tested thus far.

Incredibly, China has been on a low key, perhaps consciously, only to open up in important matches. Coach Kim Sang Ryul is a wily strategist, and what he schemes for the following matches cannot be easily fathomed. The team is a combination of the seasoned and the raw, and can touch higher peaks any moment it chooses.

To take the squad lightly in view of the showing in earlier matches will be hazardous. China’s tally is only 17 compared to India’s 28.

In Pool ‘B’, Japan and Korea have plenty of goals to show. Japan’s tally is a handsome 37, while Korea has five more. The Koreans tend to lean more on penalty corners, but Japan places a lot of faith in all-round attack, conversion of penalty corners is just one part of the plan.

Korea’s Seul Ki Cheon tops the scorers’ list with a tally of 11 goals in two matches — she was rested for the match against Kazakhstan on Sunday — while Japan’s seasoned Keiko Miura has a score of nine against her name in three matches.

Position of teams:

Pool ‘A’: India, Played 2, Won 2, Drawn nil, Lost nil, Goals for 28, Goals against 0, Points 6; China 2-2-0-0-17-0-6; Malaysia 2-1-0-1-3-4-3; Singapore 3-1-0-2-1-26-3; Thailand 3-0-0-3-0-19-0

Pool B: Korea 3-3-0-0-42-0-9; Japan 3-3-0-0-37-0-9; Hong Kong 3-1-1-1-3-10-4; Kazakhstan 3-1-0-2-5-27-3; Chinese Taipei 3-0-1-2-2-10-1; Sri Lanka 3-0-0-3-0-40-0.

Tuesday’s matches: Hong Kong v Kazakhstan (12-30 p.m.); India v China (1 p.m.); Sri Lanka v Chinese Taipei (2-30 p.m.); Japan v Korea (3 p.m.); Malaysia v Singapore (5 p.m.).