Hyderabad: Riding on two stupendous penalty corner conversions including a golden goal by Diwakar Ram, India snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to retain the junior Asia Cup. Enthralling the packed stands, the hosts made a stunning comeback to beat Korea 3-2 in the nail-biting final at the Gachibowli Stadium here on Friday.
At 0-2 in the 59th minute, when the chips were completely down and the boys were staring down the barrel, SV Sunil converted a free-hit from Diwakar Ram to reduce the margin.
The crowd, until then resigned to an Indian defeat, suddenly became boisterous and backed their team to the hilt. They were not let down by the team and three minutes later India were awarded a penalty corner when SV Sunil was obstructed.
All eyes were on Diwakar. The 18-year-old, who scored at least two goals for India in all the matches so far, justified his starstatus as he flicked high to the right of goalkeeper, setting the four-thousand odd crowd breaking into an impromptu jig.
Earlier, Korea’s Nam Hyun Woo scored two goals for his team in the 7th and the 53rd minutes. Korea were reduced to ten men in the 57th minute when Jeon Byung Jin was shown the yellow card. India capitalised on the this opportunity and slammed two goals before Jin came back.
Korea tried hard in the last few minutes but goalkeeper Sreejesh Raveendran did a great job to deter them. The match went in to extra-time.
With the golden goal to decide their fate, the teams played attacking hockey . In the fifth minute, Vivek beat three Koreans, came one-on-one with Lee Yong Kuk whom he beat with a backstick drive and passed the ball to Sunil, who was lurking in the middle. However, the Korean keeper made the fatal error of squatting on the ball while trying to foil Sunil right on the edge of the circle. The referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty corner.
The stage was set for a great end to a ferociously fought match. The man for the occasion was none other than Diwakar Ram. The Uttar Pradesh lad did not disappoint. While the Koreans were expecting the ball to the right side, considered to be Diwakar’s favourite side, the Indian dragflicker displayed alarming calmness as he coolly dragged a full-blooded shot to the left. It was enough to ignite wild celebrations in and around the ground.
“I don’t know how to describe this victory. I will take some time to let it sink in,” said Diwakar Ram.
“Our coach asked us to play aggressively. We were very disappointing in the first half. But during the break we decided to give our best. It worked and there is no tension or pressure on us,” said Diwakar, who was named as the player of the tournament.
Asked about the last PC, Diwakar said: “I was definitely under a lot of pressure. But I stopped for a second and talked to myself. Thankfully, everything worked in my favour.”
Korean coach Lim Jung Woo accused that umpires of favouring the hosts in the last 15 minutes. He also said Indians cheated his team. “How can a PC be awarded if the obstruction is fair. Indians cheated us and got penalties by appealing when there was no foul at all,” said Woo.
Earlier in the play off for the third place, Pakistan drubbed Japan 7-2.