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The Indians have assured themselves of a place in the Asian Games semi-finals after three consecutive victories and will be confident of winning the last encounter which will enable them to top the pool comfortably.
The Golden Girls had a dominant run in their first two outings but were tested in the third by the Koreans who resorted to some close and tight marking to make life difficult for the Indian strikers.
The Indian girls looked a bit tired and listless towards the end of the third quarter as did the Koreans. Gurjit Kaur, however, was at her best and converted the only 2 PCs which her team earned to power the Indians to victory after Navneet's opening goal had been cancelled out by a controversial penalty stroke.
The Indians will be up against the Thai girls on August 27 and will be looking to continue their unbeaten run. Thailand is currently ranked 28th in the world and finished 6th in last year's Asia Cup ahead of Kazakhstan and Singapore.
Thailand's best finish in the Asian Games was when they ended 5th in 1986 which was also their maiden entry into the competition. The Thai girls were not part of the next two editions but returned in 1998 when they finished 7th. They made their way back In 2010, and also competed in 2014, finishing in the 6th and 7th positions respectively.
Rani Rampal's thigh strain is a reason for concern for the Indian camp and coach Sjoerd Marijne was emphatic that he was in no hurry to get Rani on to the pitch. As such, it seems unlikely that the Indian captain will see any action in a rather inconsequential encounter on August 27.
Sjoerd Marijne's chargers will be under minimal pressure against Thailand, and may well utilize the match to try out new strategies and formations ahead of the all-important knockouts that will follow.
Here is how you can catch all the action:
Event: Asian Games 2018
Venue: Jakarta, Indonesia
Date: 27 August 2018
Time: 12:30 pm Indian Standard Time (IST)
Telecast: Sony ESPN, Sony Ten 2, Ten 2 HD, Sony ESPN HD
Live Streaming: Sony Liv
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