Korea slowed it down but we managed well: Fulton

India coach Craig Fulton believes his team did well no to succumb to the slow tempo employed by the defending champs and instead beat them at their own game

India coach Craig Fulton was happy to see his team outsmart defending champions Korea 3-2 to consolidate their position atop the Asian Champions Trophy table at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here on Monday. India scored through Nilakanta Sharma (6th min), skipper Harmanpreet Singh (23rd) and Mandeep Singh (33rd) while the Koreans got a goal each through Sunghyun Kim (12th) and Jihun Yang (58th).

Coach Fulton though believed it was a tactical battle more than anything else. “The Koreans are smart, they slowed down the pace and tried to create situations where we succumbed and lost possession of the ball. Fortunately, we kept our shape and did not let their plan succeed,” Fulton told mid-day after the win that confirmed a semi-final berth for the hosts.

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India skipper Harmanpreet missed a penalty stroke in the third quarter and coach Fulton felt that changed the tempo of the end of the match in favour of the Koreans. “After Harman’s miss, the Koreans felt they had the upper hand and you saw all those penalty corners they got after that. In the end, it was good that we came through that last quarter which was a tough one,” added Fulton. After a rest day on Tuesday, India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a potentially thrilling last league match on Wednesday.

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