Indian women salvaged a tense 3-2 win over South Korea in their second group match of the women’s Asian Champions Trophy in Rajgir, Bihar on Tuesday.
Striker Deepika converted a quality penalty stroke three minutes from the final hooter to lead India to this win.
India started well, with a 2-0 lead in the first half through goals from Sangita Kumari (3rd minute) and Deepika (20th, 57th) before Korea mounted a strong comeback in the third quarter and drew parity with goals from Yuri Lee (34th) and skipper Eunbi Cheon (38th).
The match headed for an exciting finish with both teams pushing for the end-deciding goal and it was Deepika, who scored from the spot to seal India's second consecutive victory in the tournament.
India had defeated Malaysia 4-0 in their tournament-opener on Monday. The hosts will next play Thailand on Thursday.
In the first match of the day, minnows Thailand held Japan to a 1-1 draw, while reigning Olympic silver medallist China defeated Malaysia 5-0 to register their second consecutive win.
The Indians started from where they left on Monday and continued to play attacking hockey from the onset.
India's dominance can be gauged by the fact that the Koreans didn't have a single shot at the Indian goal in the first two quarters.
India, on the other hand, attacked the Korean defence relentlessly and created chances which resulted in two field goals.
It didn't take long for the Indians to surge ahead as they opened the scoring in the third minute through Sangita.
Previously in the match with Malaysia, India earned as many as 11 penalty corners but converted just three.
Held to a 2-2 draw, the Indians decided to throw numbers upfront and mounted raids after raids on the Korean citadel and in the process secured penalty corners in quick succession but they lacked variation from the set pieces and the efforts were mostly one dimensional.
But the Indians got a chance in the 57th minute in the form of a penalty stroke, which Deepika converted with ease.
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