FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023: India beat Canada 10-1 to make quarter-finals

India qualified for the quarter-finals at the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023 after beating Canada 10-1 in their third and final Pool C match at the National Hockey Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday.

The win helped the junior Indian men’s hockey team finish second in its group with six points from three matches. Spain, who beat India in Wednesday’s hockey encounter, topped the table with nine points.

For India, Aditya Arjun Lalage (8’, 43’), Rohit (12', 55’), Amandeep Lakra (23’, 51’), Vishnukant (42’), Rajinder (42’), Kushwaha Sourabh Anand (51’) and Uttam Singh (58’) were the goal scorers. For Canada, Jude Nicholson (20’) was on target.

In the first quarter of the FIH Hockey Junior World Cup contest, India put pressure on Canada’s defence and took a 1-0 lead through Aditya Arjun Lalage, who opened the scoring with an excellent field goal.

Rohit doubled India’s lead before the opening quarter ended after converting a penalty corner.

The second quarter saw Canada bounce back when Jude Nicholson scored a fine field goal in the 21st minute to get his team back in the game. However, that proved to be the final piece of cheer the Canadian team would be afforded on the night.

India restored their two-goal lead before half-time as Amandeep Lakra successfully converted a penalty corner.

With Canada trying to find ways to bounce back, the third quarter was entertaining with both teams stepping up the ante in attack.

India extended their lead as Vishnukant Singh found the back of the net from open play. Rajinder Singh also got on the scoresheet. In the dying minutes of the quarter, Aditya Arjun Lalage scored his second goal of the game and extended India’s lead further to 6-1.

With 15 minutes left on the clock, India kept probing the Canada defence. Kushwaha Sourabh Anand, Amandeep Lakra and Rohit added three more goals to the tally before captain Uttam Singh made it 10-1 to India with two minutes remaining.

India will play Pool D toppers Netherlands in their FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023 quarter-final match on Tuesday.