Haren
Raj Kumar Pal started playing hockey at the Karampur village stadium in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, after seeing his two elder brothers play the sport. As he started rising through the ranks, Raj Kumar turned out to be a brotherly figure to Uttam Singh at that very stadium.
It made for a lovely moment on Monday at Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir on Monday, as the two were part of India’s well-worked opening goal in the semifinal of the men’s Asian Champions Trophy. As Uttam tapped in to complete a flowing passing move, it was Raj Kumar who was the first to rush to the former Under-21 captain and embrace him.
India eventually beat Korea 4-1 to keep their title defence on track and set up a title clash against China, who had earlier stunned Pakistan in the first semifinal.
The Men in Blue 💙 have maintained their incredible form with a commanding 4-1 win over Korea in today’s Semi-Finals!💪🏻🏆 Check out some of the highlights from the match. Drop your favorite moment in the comments below!👇🏻#IndiaHockey #ChampionsTrophy #FinalsBound #ACT24… pic.twitter.com/NVcAqpwxa0
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) September 16, 2024
Uttam has spoken in the past about the role Raj Kumar played in his career, akin to an elder brother guiding him through the rocky early stages of a nascent career, taking time out to train the young forward with drills like dodging, tackling, and passing to make him a more rounded athlete. The two of them have had many conversations about their careers, and finally, here they were playing for the senior national team and celebrating a goal together.
Also involved in the move was a player Uttam considers to be his inspiration. Former captain Manpreet Singh plays many roles for the Indian team under coach Craig Fulton – sometimes as a withdrawn midfielder, other times as an extra defender – but he is at his best when he is driving India forward in attack. The move for India’s first goal started with Nilakanta Sharma releasing Manpreet in midfield, who then opened his body up to find Raj Kumar. The midfielder from Ghazipur then released the tall, lanky forward Araijeet Singh Hundal to his right, taking out a couple of defenders in the process.
Araijeet’s cross was hit with a high pace and unerring accuracy through to the center, where Uttam arrived at the right place, the right time to tap it in and put India ahead in the 13th minute.
The quest for Asian supremacy reaches its final battle 🔥 🍿
🇮🇳 or 🇨🇳 – who will lift the 🏆 tomorrow? 👀#SonySportsNetwork #INDvsCHN #HockeyIndia #ACT2024 pic.twitter.com/9n2ZtZ2eiC
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 16, 2024
Korea’s coach Min Taeseok had used the perfect metaphor before the match began. He thought this was going to be a “spear vs shield” kind of contest where India’s attack would be pitted against a solid Korean defence. We had seen that in Chennai at the last edition as well as at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. Korea might not have beaten India in men’s hockey in regulation time since September 2013, but they invariably prove to be tough to crack.
That’s where India needed a good start, and the goal in the first quarter gave Fulton’s side just what they needed. Harmanpreet Singh then made it 2-0 before half time with a deflected drag flick, leaving Korea with no choice but to attack more. They nearly got one back before the interval but Suraj Karkera was alert off the line after a defensive error.
India’s third goal came in the 32nd minute from an unlikely source but a familiar pattern. Aerial passes have become an increasingly frequent feature of India’s game (as is the trend globally too) and this time it was Sumit who provided a sublime one to switch play from the left flank to right. Jarmanpreet Singh is often at the receiving end of these aerial balls as he provides an outright down the right. While his job is usually to control and find a body inside the circle, this time he took a shot across the goal and nailed it past Korean goalkeeper Kim Jaehan.
Captain @13harmanpreet scores again 🚀 🤩
India go 𝟒-𝟏 up in the semi-final 🇮🇳 #SonySportsNetwork #INDvsKOR #ACT2024 #HockeyIndia | @TheHockeyIndia @asia_hockey @FIH_Hockey pic.twitter.com/u1n0QRpuGp
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 16, 2024
Korea did hit back through the tournament’s top goalscorer Ying Jihan, who hit a powerful drag flick to make it 3-1 in the immediate aftermath of India’s goal. But a rush of blood by Kim Jaehan at the stroke of hooter in the third quarter saw him handle the ball outside Korea’s defensive circle and give Harmanpreet the chance to score his second and India’s fourth. Any brief glimmer of hope of a Korean fightback was quickly snuffed out by the Indian captain. India had more chances in the final quarter to extend their advantage but ultimately, 4-1 was a comfortable outing as they got one step closer to their fifth title.
An India-Pakistan title clash, however, didn’t pan out as China pulled off a big win earlier in the day to reach the final of this event for the first time ever. In front of a raucous home support, China took the lead but Pakistan recovered after halftime to make it 1-1. In the shootout though, Pakistan were at sixes and sevens as they missed all of their four attempts while China did enough by scoring their first two. The title decider will now pit the defending champions against the hosts on Tuesday.
