Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023 hockey: India trounce Chinese Taipei 18-0
Araijeet Singh Hundal top-scored with four goals. India will play Japan in their second match of Pool A on Thursday.
Hockey
The Indian hockey team began its title defence at the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023 with a handsome 18-0 win over Chinese Taipei at Sultan Qaboos Youth Complex in Salalah, Oman on Wednesday.
India looked solid from the start and captain Uttam Singh (10’, 59’) opened the floodgates with his goal. Vice-captain Dhami Boby Singh (10’) scored India’s second in the same minute.
Araijeet Singh Hundal (19’, 19’ 30’, 59’) top scored with four goals. Angad Bir Singh (37’), Aditya Arjun Lalage (37’, 37’), Amandeep (38’, 39’, 41’) and Yogember Rawat (60’) added to India’s tally.
Only three of India’s 18 goals came off from penalty corners. Sharda Nand Tiwari’s strike (11’) in the first quarter and the fourth-quarter goals from Amir Ali (51’) and Chandura boby Poovanna (54’) came from penalty corners.
The win puts India on top of Pool A with three points and a goal difference of +18. Pakistan, who defeated Chinese Taipei 15-1 on Tuesday, are second with a goal difference of +14.
Japan beat Thailand 7-1 in their opening match and are third on the points table. Thailand are fourth while Chinese Taipei are last in the five-team Pool A.
The Indian hockey team’s next match will be against Japan on Thursday followed by outings against arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday and Thailand on Sunday. The top two teams from the pool will qualify for the semi-finals.
The Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Oman, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan make up Pool B.
The Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023 hockey tournament is a qualifying event for the FIH Junior Men's World Cup 2023 to be held in Malaysia in December.
The top three teams in the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023, along with hosts Malaysia, will qualify for the quadrennial event.