Asia Cup 2025: India takes on defending champion Korea in Super4s opener

A 15-0 demolition of Kazakhstan notwithstanding, the Indian men would be aware that the real challenge to their dreams of winning the hockey Asia Cup and qualifying for the World Cup begins on Wednesday.

India will take on defending champion Korea in its first Super 4s match, and regardless of the difference in current world rankings of the two sides – India is seventh to Korea’s 15th – the host would be aware of the pitfalls of taking its opponent either too seriously or too lightly. The two teams have also had contrasting routes to the next stage of the competition. India had to fight hard for its first two wins before a breezy outing to top the pool while Korea’s results have been convincingly one-sided – whether in victory or defeat (to Malaysia).

What has also been constant is Korea’s attacking play and the willingness to take risks, a throwback to the earlier days when it was among the highest ranked and fittest Asian teams. Of course, the planning may change against a much-higher ranked opposition but India would welcome it. So far, the home team’s opponents have stuck to the standard low-ranked teams’ playbook – sit deep, defend in numbers, crowd your own circle and wait for space or mistakes to launch counters.

It stands to India’s credit that it has been able to find, or create, the chances it did, specially against China and Japan. Any team that allows it to play its normal, open and fast hockey is likely to be to the host’s advantage. There have been areas of concern in both attack and defence but, coach Craig Fulton admitted, that the Kazakh game gave the team a chance to play freely and work on its scoring sharpness.

The last time South Korea faced India in the Asia Cup, three years back, the match ended in a 4-4 draw.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

“You make a lot more connections, bit more time and space, you are making better decisions and the guys have a better feel about it. You get more time on the field, more time to highlight some things.. It’s actually a good challenge for the strikers when a goalkeeper comes out 7-8m every time, you have to be super sharp and adapt and how do you do it,” he said.

The last time the two teams met in this same tournament at the same stage three years ago, they played out a hard-fought 4-4 draw although India has had the upper hand in the four games since. Fulton was pragmatic. “These are two different tournaments — first the pool stage and now this. You now have got three games to get to the final, it’s a new tournament and needs new focus to figure,” he admitted.

India will face China again later on in the Super 4s and, depending on the results, a likely third time in the final. But before that, there will be Malaysia, the other unbeaten side in the tournament and the traditional banana peel team for India, who will be playing China in Wednesday’s other Super 4s match. A convincing win against Korea will be a big step towards India’s Asia Cup redemption.

Published on Sep 02, 2025