ARCHERS TO RETURN MEDAL- LESS
Gurjit’s twin strike ensures semi- final spot
Jakarta, Aug. 25: Gurjit Kaur struck twice as the Indian women’s hockey team beat title holders South Korea 4- 1 to register their third consecutive win and also book a place in the semi- finals of the Asian Games here on Saturday.
India scored three goals in as many minutes in the fourth quarter to emerge winners in the Pool B encounter after both the sides were locked at 1- 1 till the 53rd minute. Navneet Kaur gave India the lead with a field strike in the 16th minute which was neutralised by Korea’s Yurim Lee ( 20th) by converting a penalty stroke.
With both the sides desperately searching for the winner, Gurjit ( 54th, 55th) converted two penalty corners for India before Vandana Katariya ( 56th) scored a field goal to take the game away from the Koreans.
World no. 9 India were by far the better side on display as they controlled the proceedings for most part of the game. The Koreans, ranked 10, on the other hand, played well in patches and relied more on counter attacks to stun the Indians. But Korea failed to get the better of the Indian defence, barring one moment when they conceded the penalty stroke.
The last quarter started with India maintaining possession for the first few minutes, which saw Lalremsiami and Navjot Kaur create a couple of chances, but their crosses were not met by a teammate. In the 54th minute, India were awarded a penalty corner as the ball struck Yurim Lee’s foot inside the striking circle. The resulting PC was taken by India’s Gurjit Kaur and was struck towards the left side of the Korean Goalkeeper Sooji Jang to give India a crucial 21 lead.
By virtue of this win, India have secured their place in the last four round of the Games with three victories out of as many games.
India are leading Pool B with nine points from three wins ahead of South Korea ( 6 points) and Thailand ( 3 points). India will meet Thailand on Monday.
— Agencies
The Indian recurve archers’ will return emptyhanded with both the men and women sides crashing out in the quarterfinals of the team events, here on Saturday. After witnessing a disappointing campaign in the indiv i d u a l r e c u r v e events, the onus was on the men’s and women’s teams to make up for the poor show but it was not to be. The Indian women's team lost 2- 6 to formidable Chinese Taipei. The Indians, represented by Ankita Bhakat, Promila Daimary and Deepika Kumari lost 0- 2, 0- 2, 2- 0, 0- 2 to the Chinese Taipei trio of Chien- Ying Lei, Chia- Mao Peng and Yating Tan to bow out of the competition.