Key Takeaways
- India won the match against Korea with a score of 8-1 in the Junior Asia Cup.
- Araijeet Singh Hundal scored two goals for India in the match.
- Arshdeep Singh completed a hattrick for India, scoring four goals in the match.
Muscat (Oman): The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team played their last Pool A match of the Men’s Junior Asia Cup against Korea here and registered an 8-1 win.
Araijeet Singh Hundal (3’, 37’), Arshdeep Singh (9’, 44’, 60’), Gurjot Singh (11’), Rosan Kujur (27’) and Rohit (30’) found the back of the net in the game for India. While Taehyeon Kim (18’) scored the only goal for Korea.
With this victory on Sunday night, India will advance to the Semi Final on December 3, where they will have to face Malaysia.
India started the game strong, using a mix of short passes and long aerials to dominate possession. Within three minutes, they secured a penalty corner. A mistrap led to the ball being passed to an unmarked Araijeet Singh Hundal, whose first-time shot blazed past Korean goalkeeper Sookyo Kim, scoring the first goal.
India’s passing was sharp in the first quarter. Arshdeep Singh scored two goals in quick succession, making it 2-0. Gurjot Singh then capitalized on a rebound to make it 3-0.
In the second quarter, India’s passing was even sharper. However, against the run of play, a long aerial from Korea’s Donggeon Kim found Taehyeon Kim, who caught the Indian defense off guard and scored. Korea’s defense grew more combative, resisting India’s advances.
In response, India rotated the ball around the flanks, searching for openings. Soon, Araijeet cut in from the left wing and set up Rosan Kujur, who picked out the top right corner with a powerful flick, bringing the score to 4-1. As the first half drew to a close, Rohit executed a fierce drag flick from a penalty corner, making it 5-1 for India.
In the third quarter, India maintained control of the ball while Korea did their best to prevent further goals. India’s high press created several opportunities, but they struggled to convert until Arshdeep made a dangerous run along the right baseline and passed to Araijeet, who swatted the ball into the goal for his second of the game. As the quarter neared its end, Arshdeep picked up a stray ball in
the circle and unleashed a reverse shot to make it 7-1.
India began to show more patience in their gameplay, maintaining possession while Korea sought to score a second goal. The Indian forwards continued to trouble Korea’s defence with counter-attacks but struggled to create clear scoring opportunities. In the dying minutes, Arshdeep latched onto a pass in the circle, sidestepped his defender, and scored on the half turn, completing his hattrick and sealing an 8-1 victory for India.
India will take on Malaysia in the Semi Final on December 3 at 2030 hrs IST.
