Fiery India overwhelm Kazakhstan

Rajgir: For top-ranked India, it was going to be a game about keeping the scoreboard constantly ticking.

For the lowest-ranked Kazakhstan, it was about playing their hearts out and hope for the improbable to happen which in the end was not to be. 

The Harmanpreet-led side, having already sealed their Super4s spot following wins against China and Japan, were too strong for the world No. 81 minnows. The hosts at the end of a one-sided affair finished with a 15-0 victory in their final Pool A encounter at the Asia Cup here on Monday.  

Striker Abhishek, who had failed to make an impact in his team’s two wins, opened his account by scoring the first two goals. After a reverse slap into the backboard, the 26-year-old followed it up with a forehand hit to help India race away to 2-0 inside the first-eight minutes of the opening quarter. Sukhjeet Singh added a third field goal just before the hooter went off to signal the end of the first 15 minutes of play. 

After having missed a few shots previously, Harmanpreet added another to his personal tally in the second quarter. By then Abhishek had completed his hat-trick while flicker Jugraj Singh and Amit Rohidas also converted a penalty corner each. 

With the scoreboard reading 7-0 in favour of India at half-time, the Kazakhs were found huffing and puffing with both their morale and the fighting spirit diminishing rapidly. The big gap in the quality of play was so evident that many of the spectators, who had turned out in numbers, decided to call it a day in the middle of the third quarter when India had already touched a double digit score. 

The third and the fourth quarters fetched four and four goals respectively before India put the scoreboard to rest. Abhishek ended with four while Sukhjeet completed a hat-trick.

China into Super4s

In another crucial Pool A match, the 22nd-ranked China and 18th-ranked Japan were caught in an engaging contest that ended in a 2-2 draw after each team had a win and loss in their kitties. However, Chongcong Chen-led China, with a better goal difference booked their Super4s berth. 

For China, Changliang Lin (7th) and Xiaojia Zhang (25th) were the scorers while Kazumasa Matsumoto's (28th, 51st) two-goal effort went in vain as their campaign at the event will now be fought for 5-8 placings. 

Earlier, Malaysia registered their third win to maintain a clean sheet and the world No. 12 did in style by blanking Chinese Taipei 15-0. 

Akhimullah Anuar added five goals to his credit while Ashran Hamsani and Norsyafiq Sumantri netted a hat-trick each during their team’s massive win. 

Malaysia will be joined by 15th-ranked Korea in the Super4s after the defending champions came through 5-1 against Bangladesh. 

Results: Pool A: India: 15 (Abhishek 5th, 8th, 20th, 59th, Sukhjeet Singh 15th, 32nd, 38th, Jugraj Singh 24th, 31st, Harmanpreet Singh 26th, 47th, Amit Rohidas 29th, Rajinder Singh 32nd, Sanjay 54th, Dilpreet Singh 55th) bt Kazakhstan: 0; China: 2 (Changliang Lin 7th, Xiaojia Zhang 25th) drew with Japan: 2 (Kazumasa Matsumoto 28th, 51st). 

Pool B: Malaysia: 15 (Ashran Hamsani 8th, 15th, 32nd, 54th, Akhimullah Anuar 10th, 20th, 29th, 45th, 56th, Norsyafiq Sumantri 20th, 40th, 60th, Abu Kamal Azrai 22nd, Andywalfian Jeffrynus 24th, Aiman Rozemi 32nd) bt Chinese Taipei: 0; Korea: 5 (Dain Son 9th, 11th, Seungwoo Lee 16th, Seyong Oh 22nd, Jihun Yang 60th) bt Bangladesh: 1 (Shohanur Sobuj 22nd).