India defeated South Korea 5-3 in a hard-fought semi-final to enter the title clash of the men’s hockey competition at the Asian Games here on Wednesday.

The Indians, who had an easy run in the pool stages recording big wins, were made to toil by the Koreans despite taking a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.

India, who won a bronze in the last edition, will be eyeing a repeat of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, where they won the yellow metal. The final is on Saturday.

A gold in the ongoing Asian Games is of huge significance for the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists as it will ensure their direct entry into the 2024 Paris Games.

Hardik Singh (fifth minute), Mandeep Singh (11th), Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (15th), Amit Rohidas (24th) and Abhishek (54th) were the scorers for India, while Manjae Jung (17th, 20th, 42nd) scored a hat-trick for Korea.

It took just five minutes for India to take the lead through Hardik, who scored from a rebound after Lalit’s initial try was saved by the Korean goalkeeper Jaehyeon Kim.

Three minutes later, an unmarked Mandeep got plenty of space inside the circle but his slap shot, with only the goalkeeper to beat, went over the post.

The first quarter saw fast-paced continuous attacks from the Indians and their tactics bore fruit again in the 11th minute when Mandeep deflected in his 10th goal here from a Gurjant pass.

Just at the stroke of the first quarter, Lalit was at the right place to push in a rebound after Harmanpreet’s reverse hit was saved by the Korean goalkeeper to hand India a 3-0 lead.

The Koreans looked more purposeful in the second quarter with two quick goals. But India had the last laugh.