Chennai: China came up with a strong defensive show to hold reigning champions South Korea to a 1-1 draw in a round-robin match of the Asian Champions Trophy here Sunday.
While Jonghyun Jang opened the scoring for Korea, Chongcong Chen pulled off the equaliser for China at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium.
The opening quarter was uneventful with both sides unable to create opportunities.
It was not until the second quarter that South Korea earned the contest’s first penalty corner, with skipper Jonghyun Jang converting it to put his side ahead in the 18th minute.
Both sides continued to apply defensive tactics resulting in half-hearted attempts at the goal.
The third quarter began with a fair degree of intensity, especially from China. A 43rd-minute field goal from close range from Chongcong Chen brought the Chinese back into the encounter.
Things became a bit rough in the middle following the goal with Korea’s Manjae Jung being shown the green card.
With the match entering the final quarter, Korea showed a lot of urgency and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions.
However, none of their shots were able to penetrate China’s defensive wall, as the two sides shared the honours.
China will next face Pakistan, while Korea will be up against hosts India Monday.
PTI