Pakistan, South Korea in Asia Cup semi-finals underway

IPOH: The semi-final of the Asia Cup between Pakistan and South Korea is underway in Ipoh (Malaysia)/

Pakistan won all their Pool A games convincingly and are now ready to go all out for a victory against the Koreans to seal a place in Sunday’s finale of the eight-nation contest.

But they are fully aware that unlike their Pool A rivals – hosts Malaysia, Japan and Chinese Taipei – South Korea won’t be easy opponents.

“We know that to beat the Koreans, our boys will have to raise their game tomorrow,” said Tahir Zaman, Pakistan’s coach. “We have been working really hard and are ready to give our best to beat the Koreans for a place in the final,” he added.

Four-time world champions Pakistan have to win the Asia Cup as the tournament provides them their last chance to make the cut for next summer’s World Cup to be played at The Hague. If they fail to win the title then it would be for the first time that the World Cup would not feature the Green-shirts since its inception back in 1971.

The Pakistanis carried out a marathon training session under hot and humid Ipoh conditions on Thursday, looking to find ways and means to conquer the Koreas, currently Asia’s top-ranked hockey team. The Koreans have already qualified for World Cup 2015.

Both teams last met in the World League semi-finals in Johor Baru last month, with South Korea edging Pakistan 4-3 in the quarter-finals.

Muhammad Imran, Pakistan’s captain, announced on Thursday that his team was ready for the “do-or-die mission”.

“We must win the match ... but it’s never easy playing against the Koreans, who never stop creating chances until the very last seconds of the match,” said the seasoned defender.

“The pressure will definitely be on us. We must be on our toes for the whole duration.