DOHA, Dec 1: After replacing subcontinental field hockey powers India and Pakistan as the Asian Games team to beat, South Korea's men will be chasing their fourth gold medal in 20 years in Doha over the next two weeks.

South Korea took men's hockey seriously when it hosted the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, and the Olympics two years later. Defeating Pakistan to win the 1986 Asian Games gold medal, the South Koreans produced the biggest upset in Asian hockey.

That 1986 final was the first occasion that the title contest wasn't between traditional rivals India and Pakistan, and it transformed the sport in Asia.

South Korea went on to win the Asian Games in 1994 and 2002, while Pakistan got the last of its seven gold medals in 1990 and India won gold only for the second time in 1998.

Winning a silver medal at the Sydney Olympics and making the semifinals of two subsequent World Cups - at Malaysia in 2002 and Germany this year - South Korea has reinforced its top billing among Asian teams even as India and Pakistan struggle to field strong teams.

Pakistan's last major title was the 1994 World Cup, while eight-time Olympic champion India's 1998 Asian Games triumph remains its only significant win after it won the boycott-marred 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

Since then, India hasn't managed to advance to the semifinals at six Olympic Games and seven World Cup tournaments.

Playing a game of musical chairs in frequently sacking its national coaches, India finished 11th among 12 teams at the World Cup in September.

Coach Vasudevan Bhaskaran, captain of the team that won the 1980 Olympic gold medal, managed to keep his job after the World Cup but has been put on notice by the Indian Hockey Federation.

“India wants results from its team, the Asian Games are very important to us,” Bhaskaran said.

Striker Rehan Butt will lead Pakistan in Doha, but his team is missing five key players who decided to skip the selection camps and play in foreign leagues.

Two former captains, Waseem Ahmad and Mohammad Saqlain, and Sohail Abbas, holder of the world mark for international goals, are among those left out of the squad.

“It's time new players make the national squad,'' said Shahnaz Sheikh, Pakistan's coach and former captain.“We're targeting a place in the final in order to secure direct entry into the Beijing Olympics,'' Sheikh said.

Pakistan plays Malaysia in one of four matches Monday, while South Korea takes on Bangladesh and India plays China on Tuesday.—AP