Kuala Lumpur: India scored thrice in the last four minutes of an action-packed second half to score a thrilling 4-2 victory to oust defending champions South Korea and reach their fifth final in the Asia Cup hockey tournament in Kuala Lumpur on September 26.

Desperate to win their maiden Asia Cup title, India, who finished third in the last edition, stumbled and stuttered before quelling the challenge of a spirited Korean side which had as many as seven youngsters in its line-up and was eyeing to win its third consecutive Asia Cup title.

A high-voltage India-Pakistan title clash is now on the cards since the latter are expected to win their semi-final match against Japan later today (Sep 26).

The thrills were stored for the second session in the India-Korea match as the first half remained goalless with both the teams preferring to play a waiting game.

A sudden spurt in the pace of the game in the second half, triggered off when Korea got the breakthrough in the 39th minute to go 1-0 up, saw India score in quick succession and take a 3-1 lead with a minute to go before the hooter.

After Korea pulled one back in the dying stages to reduce the margin to 3-2, Deepak Thakur sealed the fate of the defending champions just four seconds before the hooter.

PTI