Despite a 1-1 draw against Korea, hockey legend India didn’t reach the semifinal stage at the men’s Asian Games hockey tournament in Doha, Qatar. The Indian team had to defeat the BDO World Cup semifinalist to proceed to the Final Four, but didn’t succeed. With this result, Korea and China proceed to Tuesday’s semifinal, while India can only finish fifth at the Asian Games.

It was not directly the match against Korea that was hurting India. The surprising defeat against China last Tuesday ended the medal hopes of the Indian team.

Against Korea, India did everything it could to score as many goals as possible. After a scoreless first half, it was Korean Jong Hyun Jang who opened the score at the beginning of the second half. After Indian Ragunath Vokkaliga equaled the match out of a penalty corner with just more than ten minutes to play, there were still some hopes for India. But at the end, the 1-1 draw didn’t help India at all.

Korea will proceed to the Final Four as the winner of pool B, while China will join the Koreans in the semifinals. For India, there will be no qualification for the 2008 Olympic Games at this stage as only the two finalists will earn a ticket for the Olympic hockey tournament in Beijing. The Indian team will probably have another chance early 2008 during one of the three Olympic Qualifiers.

In other Sunday pool B action, Bangladesh defeated Oman 5-3.

In the women’s event at the Asian Games, three teams still have a chance of reaching the final. Korea, China and Japan will fight on Monday for the two final spots and qualification for the 2008 Olympic Games.

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