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Hockey: India beats Pakistan to lift Junior Men’s Asia Cup
With this win, India gets direct entry to the FIH Hockey World Cup for the juniors.
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Earlier, India defeated Thailand 11-0, Japan 3-2, Chinese Taipei 16-0, Korea 8-1 before getting better of Malaysia at 3-1 in the semi-finals and 5-3 against Pakistan in the final. / Hockey India on X
Defeating its traditional rivals and neighbour Pakistan 5-3 in the final, India won its third successive Asia Cup for Junior Men hockey title in Muscat. Araijit Singh Hundal, who scored four goals in the final, was declared player of the match.
India were the winners of the 2004, 2008, 2015 and 2023 editions of the event as well. It was the fifth title triumph for India in the 11 editions of the tournament.
Hockey India would be closing the year on a cheerful note as Indian men's and women's teams have already retained their Asian Champions Trophy titles while Junior Men have completed a hat-trick of triumphs in the Asia Junior Cup.
With this win, India gets direct entry to the FIH Hockey World Cup for Junior Men. It is the first title triumph for former Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh as a coach. Though he took the Indian Colts to the Sultan Hockey Tournament in Malaysia early this year, the Indian team had finished with a bronze medal.
Araijeet Singh Hundal (4’, 18’, 47’, 54’) was in top form for India while Dilraj Singh (19’) scored the other goal. Pakistan's captain Shahid Hannan (3’) and Sufyan Khan (30’, 39’) did their utmost to keep their team in the tie for the majority of the game.
As Indian players were getting into their groove, Pakistan skipper Shahid Hannan pounced on a stray ball in the shooting circle and beat Bikramjeet Singh in a one-on-one situation to put Pakistan ahead.
India responded immediately by earning a penalty corner and Araijit unleashed a powerful drag flick to the right top corner to restore parity. Both teams went on to trade circle entries without finding the back of the net till the end of the first quarter.
Within three minutes of the second quarter, India was awarded another penalty corner and Araijeet stepped up again, finding the gap between Pakistan’s goalkeeper Muhammad Janjua and another defender with a thunderous drag flick to give India the lead.
Following this, the Indian forwards relentlessly pressured Pakistan's defence. Soon, Dilraj weaved past two defenders on the left wing and struck the board, extending India's lead to 3-1.
As the first half was drawing to a close, Pakistan’s Sufyan Khan showcased his drag-flicking skills, beating Bikramjit Singh in goal to make it 3-2.
Araijeet created two chances in quick succession as the third quarter began but Pakistani goalkeeper Muhammad Janjua pulled out amazing saves on both occasions to keep Pakistan in the match
Both teams went back and forth until Sufyan Khan, with six minutes left in the quarter, flicked the ball into the Indian goal from a penalty corner and ensured Pakistan headed into the last quarter level on the score.
As soon as the final quarter began, India seized the initiative. Manmeet Singh skilfully dribbled past his marker and found an unmarked Araijeet in front of the goal, who deflected the ball into the goal to restore India's lead and complete his hat-trick.
With ten minutes to go, Zikriya Hayat tried to launch a counter-attack but Indian goalie Prince Deep Singh rushed out to avert any danger.
India earned a penalty corner in the last few minutes and employed a variation to free up Araijeet, who smashed the ball into the top right corner with his flick, making it 5-3 for India.
Earlier, India defeated Thailand 11-0, Japan 3-2, Chinese Taipei 16-0, Korea 8-1 before getting better of Malaysia at 3-1 in the semi-finals and 5-3 against Pakistan in the final.
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