Muscat: Asian heavyweights Japan will take on the fighting South Korea in the final clash of the Women’s Asia Cup 2022 hockey championship on Friday.
The final, to be played at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher, is scheduled to kick off at 7 pm under auspices of Dr Laila bint Ahmed al Najar, Minister of Social Development in presence of dignitaries and officials. The third and fourth place play-off between India and China will take place ahead of the concluding match and the game will start at 4:30 pm.
Korean women sealed their position in the final match after they crashed out the defending champion India 3-2 in the first semifinal on Wednesday. Japan reached the final after they picked up a 2-1 win against China in the second semifinal.
Both unbeaten teams in the tournament, South Korea and Japan, will be keen to lift the prestigious title. It is expected the final clash will be tight tussle as both teams showed top performance in the tournament.
South Korea, coached by Han Jin Soo, will depend on some key players including Baek Eeseul, Seo Jungeun, Cho Hyehin and other players. The former Indian player and head coach of Japan team, Jude Menezez, will focus on the Kaho Tanaka, Amiru Shimada and other players to deliver top show and clinch the awaited title.
Unbeaten Japanese women ended the group matches on full mark as they began the campaign with a 6-0 win over Singapore and beating India 2-0 and drubbed Malaysia 8-0. Korean women dominated in the group stage as they defeated Indonesia 7-0 and in the following day they registered a 4-0 win over China before thrashing Indonesia 7-0 in the concluding game.
Post the final match, a closing ceremony with short show will take place before the chief guest presenting the trophy and medals to the top winners. The final ceremony will be attended by Dr Marwan Juma al Juma, Chairman of Hockey Association (OHA), Dato’ Tayyab Ikram, CEO of Asian Hockey Federation and other officials of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth.
A training programme on preparations for the women’s hockey sport concluded on Thursday after five days of the theory and practical training sessions. As many as 25 participants attended the training course presented by Coach Ahmed al Darmaki, Coach Mohammed al Darmaki and international umpire Khamis al Balushi. The learners from Oman and Saudi Arabia were taught about the fundamentals of hockey sport besides the umpiring session.
