Bhubaneswar: Day 5 of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup action continued as teams from Pool B played their second round of matches.
First up were Japan and Korea who were striving for their first points having lost their opening encounters against Germany and Belgium respectively.
Japan were quick off the block, scoring inside 70 seconds, but Korea stormed back into the game, scoring twice through Lee Jungjun to take the lead inside the half that they would hold on till the end to win 2-1.
The result takes Korea to 3 points, while Japan are still in waiting for their first point.
Germany and Belgium are two teams known for producing entertaining encounters and handsomely delivered on that promise in the final match of the day.
Belgium came roaring out of the gates and were the first to get on the scoreboard.
Germany, who were slow off the blocks, gradually grew into the game and leveled the score before the interval.
The Germans carried the momentum into the second half and finally managed to score in the 53rd minute, but an untimely green card for Thies Pirnz allowed Belgium to dominate for 2 minutes and they managed to get back on level terms through a goal by Victor Wegnez.
The results keep Pool B incredibly tight with Korea on 3 points trailing Germany and Belgium who sit on 4 points each, with Belgium on top of the table thanks to their superior goal difference.
Result: Match 1
Korea 2-1 Japan
Player of the Match: Lee Jungjun (KOR)
Umpires: Jonas van’t Hek (NED), Raghu Prasad (IND), Coen van Bunge (NED-video)
Result: Match 2
Germany 2-2 Belgium
Player of the Match: Niklas Wellen (GER)
Umpires: Gareth Greenfield (NZL), David Tomlinson (NZL), Javed Shaikh (IND-video)
