Asia Cup 2009 :: Furious encounter on the cards

A fast and furious encounter is expected when the two East Asia teams meet in the semi-finals of the Asia Cup hockey tournament here today.

South Korea, who are ranked fifth in the world, are the clear favourites to beat China. At the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, the Koreans claimed the gold medal beating the Chinese 3-1 in the final.

However, the Koreans by their own admission are not well-prepared for the Asia Cup and it present their opponents the best chance to chalk up a win.

Coach Cho Myung-jun said: “We do not have several top players for this tournament and we only started our preparations a month ago.

“Although I have great confidence in the team’s ability, I would think that we are vulnerable as well. But I still think we can regain the Asia Cup (South Korea were champions in 1994 and 1999).”

Myung-jun added that he regarded China as the next fittest team in the tournament after his side.

“I am impressed with China’s game here. They have improved greatly since the Beijing Olympics. Their game is similar to the Japanese but they are able to play at a faster pace,” he said.

Chinese coach Guo Jie said that they would play the same way that brought them draws against Pakistan (1-1) and India (2-2).

“We have good teamwork and the Korean style is known to us. We will give it our best shot. We are also here tto win the title. In recent years, we have beaten Asia’s other top teams and I see no reason for us not being able to beat the Koreans,” he said.