Indian eves stun Korea 1-0 to win hockey Bronze

Doha, Dec 13 (UNI) After their male counterparts had disgraced India with yet another shameful finish, the eves hung on to their one-goal lead as if it was for their lives and stunned formidable Korea 1-0 to win the Bronze in the hockey competition of the Asian Games here today.

Mamta Kharab struck the all-important goal for India in the 16th minute following a penalty corner and after that they defended the lead with a superb show of nerves and determination and, for once, luck sided with them.

The Indians thus won a medal after a gap of eight years, having finished second in the 1998 Bangkok Asiad where they had lost to Korea.

This is for the first time that the Koreans ended without a medal in women hockey in Asiad having previously won the gold four times and silver twice.

The Indians with this display made amends of all their previous lacklustre showings and pick of them was goal keeper Dipika Murthy who brought off several stunning saves.

''I had predicted before the start of the tournament that we will win a medal and I am proved right,'' said a visibly elated coach M K Kaushik.

''It is a great achievement for a team as nothing has been going right for us. However, the girls rose to the occasion and met the challenge brilliantly,' he gushed.

It was an off-day for the Koreans who had beaten India 3-2 in the last league match. They earned seven penalty corners but could not make use of them. Their star penalty corner expert Park Young Soon, who had scored eight goals before this match, could not fire at all.

The Indian goal came in the 16th minute when they earned the first penalty corner. They did not go for a direct crack but relayed the ball between them four times without the Koreans being able to intercept it and then skipper Jyoti Kullu drew the goalkeeper out and set the ball for Mamta Kharab who made no mistake in slamming it in the goal (1-0).

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