28th Azlan Shah Cup: Gold for Smart Korea...

By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my

IPOH: South Korea played smart hockey to take the Azlan Shah Cup final into shoot out and then a stylish goal from skipper Lee Nam Young saw them lift the Azlan Shah Cup for the third time.
  The match ended 1-1, just like the pool stage, but in the end South Korea won the shoot-out 4-2.
  Nam Young took the final shoot-out, and charging in, he lifted the ball over the goalkeeper for victory.
  India took an early lead off Simranjeet Singh in the 9th minute, and held onto dear life until the last quarter.
  Korea never stopped presing, while also keeping India in check, and they were finally rewarded in the 47th minute, when they won a penalty stroke and Jang Jung Hyun almost tore the netting for the equaliser.
  The lucky strike took Korea into a shoot out.
  For the record, before the final, India had won four golds and shared one with South Korea (1985, 1991, 1995, 2009 and shared 2010 because of rain), while Korea had won in 1996 and shared the 2010 gold.
  PLACING: South Korea, India, Malaysia, Canada, Japan, Poland.
  AWARDS:
  Fairplay (Raja Ashman Shah Trophy): Japan.
  Man-of-the-Final: Jang Jung Hyun (Korea).
  Top Goal Scorer: Mandeep Singh (India) and Jang Jung Hyun (seven goals each).
  Best Goalkeeper: Kim Jae Hyeon (Korea).
  Player-of-the-Tournament: Surender Kumar (India).