India face Korea in do-or-die battle tomorrow

Kuala Lumpur, June 20 (UNI) Thrashing Malaysia 5-2 may have brought them back on the track but India meet Korea in a make-or-break battle here tomorrow and only a win can see V Bhaskaran's wards in the semifinals of the 15th Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament.

Hammered 4-1 in their opener by Olympic champion Australia, India face a difficult task against the Koreans who stunned the Aussie 3-0 and a draw against India would be enough for them to sail into the semifinals.

Korea top pool A with four points, while Australia have three points from their 4-1 victory over India.

While Australia are expected to have a cakewalk against minnows Malaysia, India has no such cushion and they would go all out against the Koreans to avoid an early exit from the eight-nation tournament.

India would have to be aware about early goals -- it conceded two against Australia and could not recover from there and scored quick goals against Malaysia and went on to build on that.

After the forgettable outing against the Aussies, the forwardline found their touch against Malaysia and banging in five goals have done a world of good to their morale.

Indian deep defence would be put on sword tomorrow especially against the blitz counter-attacks from their continental rivals.

Goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza remains as reliable under the bar as ever but he did not find enough support from the men who marshall the defence and the Koreans would be prompt to cash in on any defensive lapse which might prove costly for India.

UNI XC AY PR KN1948