Cup slips in final four minutes

India played within their limitations, sticking to their strategy of containing the Koreans and looking for openings to build attacks. Korea had three forwards — Seung Eun Kim, Hyun Jung Woo and Bo Ra Cho — upfront most of the time, with a second line of attack formed by captain E Y Lee, Mi Kyun Kim and Eun Jin Kim moving up in support.

Their amazing speed and accurate passing made itdifficult for Indians to stick to player-to-player marking though they succeeded in keeping dangerwoman Woo in check to some extent.

Korea went ahead through one of their trademark counter-attacks which was built near the India circle after the hosts wasted their first penalty corner. It took the Koreans just three passes to cover the field and Eun Jin Kim beat Tingonleima Chanu flicking home on a pass from Seung Eun Kim.

Chanu once again had an outstanding match and refused to be troubled by the roving Koreans inside the circle. It was Chanu’s agility that must have played on the mind of Woo, who tried to do too much and found the bar when she went up to take the stroke’ that was awarded in Korea’s favour in the dying minutes of first half.

Even deep defender Marystella Tirkey played a brilliant match, making a diving goaline save in the 34th minute after Woo had succeeded in drawing Chanu out.

It could have been 3-0, but India were still in the hunt and they came out attacking looking to erase onegoal’s deficit in the second session. Coach Gurdyal Singh Bhangu replaced Pritam Rani Siwatch as the roving striker with Suraj Lata Devi, to let Pritam do the spadework in the midfield. Pritam once again troubled the Koreans with her skill and body feints and was behind most of the penalty corners India earned.

Indian midfield play also improved a notch and suddenly Korea were looking vulnerable. They succumbed soon as Suraj Lata equalised off their fifth penalty corner. The crowd, on the edge of the seats by now, cried for more and the girls did not disappoint converting their seventh penalty corner — Pritam setting up Kamla Dalal in an indirect sequence.

That should have been it. The Koreans had lost their composure and were reduced to mispasses and frantic shouts. But sadly, the Indians did not know how to close out the match. Rather than make long clearnces they preferred to flirt with fire and got singed.

Seung Shin Oh got the equaliser after Chanu and then Sumrai Tete had blocked two consecutivetries. Korea were awesome in their finish, as Oh was their golden girl in the fourth minute of extra time.

Indian coach Bhangu, though disappointed, gave credit to his girls for their “fighting spirit”. “We lost to the Olympic Games silver medallists, and it was just lack of maturity that did us in,” he said.