Indian girls, despite showing glimpses of good hockey, could not match Korea in all compartments of the game, and went down 1-3 in the semifinal played today at Incheon.
India will now face Japan, which lost to China 1-2 in the first semifinal
Once the Korea took lead in the third minute, it seemed a whitewash is going to happen with respect to India, but an alert Nimitha Toppo latched on to a gem of a gentle pass from Rani on top of edge, and then unleashed a backhander, where the ball hit the top edge of the net, leaving diving goalie no chance, the Koreans were momentarily stopped in their track.
Korea struk before the second quarter end with Korean player Han Hye Lyoung converting a penalty,and then a close range shot in the third quarter saw Korea easily sailing into the final
In the 42nd minute, South Korean forward Park Mihyun hit the third goal for her team, taking the scorecard to 3-1.
India had their moments of reckoning with good attacks, even earning two penalty corners in succession in the last quarter, but Jaspreet’s shots were not threatening.
Indian girls, winners of gold in 1982, will now play for bronze against Japan.
But in the 28th minute, India got a set-back when