U-18 Asia Cup: India Beats Korea 4-1 To Go At The Top Of Pool A

U-18 Asia Cup: The Indian U-18 men's hockey team beat Korea 4-1. The Pool A match took place in Kakamigahara, Japan, on Monday. Captain Ketan Kushwaha scored twice. Varinder Singh and Shahrukh Ali added one goal each. Korean captain Yun Jaehyeok scored Korea's only goal.

India struck early in the first quarter. Kushwaha scored in the third minute from a penalty corner rebound. Varinder doubled the lead in the fifth minute from close range. Korea stayed in the contest after Jaehyeok converted a 21st-minute penalty corner.

Goals and scorers

India used penalty corners and quick passing well. Kushwaha scored again in the 36th minute, after another penalty corner. The Korean defence failed to clear the loose ball. Shahrukh sealed the result in the 54th minute with a strong strike.

U18 Asia Cup: How the match unfolded

India led 2-0 after five minutes. Korea then slowed the game. The second quarter saw end-to-end moves, but few clear chances. Korea halved the deficit before half-time. Both sides earned penalty corners late in the third quarter, but did not score.

Korea almost scored again in the 53rd minute. Kim Doyun deflected the ball on target. Indian goalkeeper Ayush Rajak made a vital stick save. One minute later, Shahrukh hit India's fourth goal to settle the contest.

This win put India level on six points with Korea and Japan. The top two teams from each pool enter the semi-finals. India will next face Chinese Taipei on 3 June at 1:30 PM IST. It is their final Pool A match.