Men's Hockey Asia Cup: Wasteful India drop points as old problems resurface

It was a superb run by Hardik Singh. He has not done it often in international hockey -- collecting the ball on the halfway line, and weaving through the opposition defence. On Wednesday against South Korea in India's Asia Cup tie, he went for goal after a sensational run and control, to open the scoring for India.

It was the perfect start for India, and on the balance of play in the opening exchanges, it was just reward for India playing some good hockey. That good hockey stopped right there, in the eighth minute of the match. Within seconds after Hardik's goal, South Korea entered the circle and created a chance.

Four minutes after Hardik's goal, Korea equalised from a penalty stroke after Jugraj Singh made a foul inside the circle. Yang Jihun made no mistake from the spot. Two minutes later, Kim Hyeonhong converted a penalty corner to make it 2-1 for the visitors.

For the next 30-odd minutes, despite keeping the ball for a long time, India failed to make any impact. In fact, it was South Korea who looked solid on the ball, even though they were relying on counter-attacks. One or two more goals for South Korea wouldn't have been a surprise at that stage.

India's best chances in the game came in the final quarter. There was more energy among the players, the ball movement was quicker and Indian players crowded South Korea's circle. Now chances were coming but they were struggling to score. Eventually, in the 53rd minute, Sukhjeet Singh's pass was converted by Mandeep Singh from a close range. It was a tough pass but Mandeep's calm touch was followed by a calm finish. India pushed for more but that was India. Their opening match in the Super 4 stage ended in a 2-2 draw.

Strangely, the calmness that he displayed to score the equaliser is what went missing, leading to India's attacking woes. And it has been for some time. India head coach Craig Fulton spoke about it earlier and also after this match. Efficiency has been an issue, and the team was working on it in the lead up to the tournament.

Apart from Abhishek, India's attacking players, more often than not, are struggling to finish their chances. In this game, even Abhishek was profligate, and putthat India under serious pressure. Credit should also go to Korea who defended well and reduced India's chances from penalty corners.

Fulton was not happy with the eventual outcome, but he insists the team is not in dire straits.

"I have not lost faith, it's game on. We're playing well, we just need to make one or two connections count. It's not ideal. We created enough chances from individual and collective play. We possibly missed the goal five times from nine yards. It just what happened on the night. I don't think you can play two games and do the same thing twice. I expect there will be a difference tomorrow," he said after the game.

Like Fulton said, the result is not ideal but there are two more games to go. The good thing is India can put out a quick statement on Thursday when they take on Malaysia, who have won all four matches so far. Like Korea, they will also sit deep and make it extremely difficult. India's attack need to step up and importantly, make it count.