FIH Men’s Junior World Cup: India maul Oman 17-0

Hosts deliver event’s biggest win yet to hold on to top spot in Pool B.

Chennai: India extended their winning run in the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup with a resounding 17-0 win over Oman here at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium on Saturday.

Dilraj Singh’s double brace, Arsdeep Singh’s and Manmeet Singh’s hat-trick set up a comfortable victory for the world No. 2 India.

Arshdeep Singh opened India’s account in the first quarter with a fabulous shot, finding a small opening between the goalkeeper and the edge of the goal post. Despite an early lead, the hosts took their time to adapt to the adverse weather conditions. India earned four penalty corners in the first quarter, but failed to convert any of them.

After missing three PCs, the floodgates opened in the second quarter with Manmeet Singh adding his name to the score sheet in the 17th minute. However, India’s poor penalty corner conversions continued with two more missed chances. Manmeet brushed past the defenders to find the back of the net once again in the 26th minute.  In the 29th minute, Anmol Ekka ended India’s wait for a PC goal after ten missed chances. Soon after, Dilraj Singh scored a goal in under 10 milliseconds to extend India’s half-time lead to 5-0. 

Coming back after the break, India unleashed their best performance with seven goals in the third quarter. Dilraj Singh converted a PC to score his second goal of the night. Arshdeep Singh and Ajeet Yadav scored a goal each in under 20 seconds to extend India’s lead to eight goals. 

Two minutes later, Manmeet Singh scored another goal, completing his hat-trick. Gurjot Singh found the back of the net for India off a penalty corner, improving their conversion rate. 

Arshdeep Singh scored his third goal of the night in the 40th minute, while Thounaojam Ingalemba Luwang from Manipur found the back of the net from the edge of the circle to open his account. 

Oman earned a couple of penalty corners in the dying minutes of the third quarter — a ray of hope in a dull encounter for the Asian nation. Gurjot Singh completed his brace with a backhand shot in the last few seconds of the quarter, helping India take a 13-0 lead.

Two minutes into the final quarter, India earned a penalty corner. Ajeet Yadav made easy work of the penalty corner, further extending their lead. Sourabh Anand passed the ball to Dilraj Singh, who tapped the ball into the goalpost, converting another penalty corner for India. 

Omani goalkeeper Ahmed Al Naabi committed a harsh tackle inside the circle, resulting in a penalty stroke for India. Sharda Nand Tiwari converted the penalty stroke. Three minutes later, Dilraj Singh scored the final goal of the night, sealing a massive 17-0 victory. Despite a convincing victory, India will have to address their poor penalty corner conversion, having scored on four of the 19 penalty corners earned. 

India retained the top spot in the Pool B standings, with Switzerland placed second, courtesy of India’s better goal difference of 24. They will play their last group stage encounter against Switzerland at the Madurai International Hockey Stadium on Tuesday, December. The two sides will lock horns with a spot in the quarterfinals at stake.

Results: In Chennai: Pool B: India: 17 (Arshdeep Singh 4th, 33rd, 40th, Manmeet Singh 17th, 26th & 36th, Anmol Ekka 29th, Dilraj Singh 29th, 32nd, 50th & 58th, Ajeet Yadav 34th, 37th, Gurjot Singh 39th, 45th, Thounaojam Ingalemba Luwang 43rd, Sharda Nand Tiwari 55th) bt Oman: 0

Switzerland: 3 (Jonathan Baumbach 7th, Jens Fluck 18th, Mattia Ribaudo 45th) bt Chile: 2 (Tomas Hasson 37th, Felipe Duisberg 57th).

Pool F: France: 11 (Gabin Lorrazuri 2nd & 49th, Hugo Dolou 8th, Arthur Plauche 23rd, 26th & 42nd, Achille Loussif 37th, Tassilo Sura 43rd, Victor Saint-Martin 45th & 55th, Arthur Morcrette 59th) bt Korea: 1 (Gyeonghu Lee 40th).

Australia: 5 (Oliver Will 1st, Ian Grobbelaar 18th, Dylan Brick 22nd, Duncan Jackson 24th, Daykin Stanger 48th) bt Bangladesh: 3 (Amirul Islam 14th, 42nd, 59th).

In Madurai: Pool A: South Africa: 2 (Reuben Sendzul 43rd, Ross Montgomery 54th) bt Ireland: 1 (Matthew McKee 45th).

Germany: 7 (Quirin Nahr 14th, Ben Hasbach 24th, 51st & 52nd, Jonas von Gersum 39th, Ferdinand Steinebach 39th, Alec von Schwerin 42nd) bt Canada: 0.

Pool E: Netherlands: 5 (Jan van ‘t Land 2nd & 49th, Casper van der Veen 26th, Joppe Wolbert 39th, Danilo Trieling 54th) bt England: 3 (Kaden Draysey 11th, Micheael Royden 29th, George Fletcher 49th).

Malaysia: 5 (Harris Osman 28th, Adam Johari 47th, Naaveenesh Panicker 55th, Danish Khairil 56th & 57th) bt Austria: 1 (Julian Kaiser 56th).