South Korea 5 China 3

South Korea proved too good for hosts China as they powered away to a 5-3 victory to win the Asian Champions Trophy here on Saturday. China had taken the lead 2-0 and it seemed that an upset could be on the cards but the Korean forward line was brilliant on their counter-attacks as they not only equalized but fought back to take the lead. China can only blame themselves as their finishing let them down in the Korean striking circle.

The scorers for South Korea were Ju Ok Kim (19th), Eun Bi Cheon (23rd), Jong Eun Kim (44th), Jong Hee Kim (45th) and Mi Hyun Park (64th). China scored through Yibo Ma (12th),Baorong Fu (18th) and Lihua Gao (48th).

With a packed stadium watching for the first time in the tournament, China raced away to a lead when Yibo Ma converted a penalty corner. The lead was enhanced through a run from the right flank when Baorong Fu flicked home. It seemed that China would run away with the game as they enjoyed ball possession. But slowly the Koreans fought back in the very next minute to cut the scores when Ju Ok Kim played a tandem and shot home.

The scores were equalized in the 23rd minute when Eun Bi Cheon smashed home from the top of the circle. Suddenly the match was open as the Koreans looked dangerous on the counter-attacks.

In the 44th minute, an error in the midfield saw the Koreans power through and earn a penalty corner. Jong Eun Kim deflected it brilliantly past the Chinese goalkeeper. It was 4-2 when Jong Hee Kim reverse flicked home as she ran past a host of Chinese defenders.

China managed to cut the scores to 3-4 when Lihua Gao struck a beautiful reverse shot. China was dominating at this stage and was in the hunt for the equalizer but utilizing the space given by the Chinese midfield, Korea struck their fifth goal when Mi Hyun Park raced down the right flank, dodged past two defenders and placed the ball into goal past the Chinese goalkeeper. China kept up the hunt but missed a few sitters as time ran out.