Young drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh enhanced his reputation by scoring four goals in the final of the junior Asia Cup, which helped India record an emphatic 6-2 win over Pakistan and clinch the title.
India started the match on a positive note by pressing hard since the opening minute of the first half. They were soon awarded with a penalty corner, which Harmanpreet converted the penalty corner to take his tally to 12 goals in the tournament and give India an early advantage of 1-0.
India were again awarded with back-to-back penalty corners in the 13th and 14th minute. Harmanpreet scored from one of them to take double India’s tally within 15 minutes of the game.
Pakistan regrouped and started to keep the possession. They were rewarded in the 28th minute when they successfully converted a penalty corner taken by Yaqoob Muhammad. However, their mini-revival was put to rest by Harmanpreet two minutes later, who scored his 14th of the tournament with another powerful drag-flick.
Harmanpreet has been one of the standout performers in the junior team, finding the target consistently from penalty corners. While his finishing abilities ensured India had a two-goal cushion going into half time, skipper Harjeet Singh was inspiration in his role. He dictated play with his precise passing and movements, creating majority of India’s chances.
His astute passing resulted in India scoring another goal in the second half, with Armaan Qureshi scoring in the 44th minute. Manpreet jr. scored the fifth goal for India followed by another penalty corner goal by Harmanpreet making the score 6-1. Pakistan scored a consolation goal in the 68th minute through Dilber.
The match ended with India winning the trophy with a score line of 6-2. Harmanpreet became the highest scorer with his four goals in the match taking his tournament tally to 15 goals in the tournament.
Indian coach Harendra Singh applauded his side’s calmness on field. “It was an exciting final and the boys displayed immaculate passion and calmness on the field. We ended up as runners up in the 5th Sultan of Johor Cup which made it an even bigger win as we were hungry for the podium position. The support was immense and we felt we were playing in our own backyard. We only have to look forward from here and keep giving such excellent performances,” he said.
Seniors go down to Australia
India failed to hold on to their early lead as they went down 1-2 against Australia in the second Test at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Hockey Stadium at Raipur. Coming into the game after a 1-1 draw in the first of the three match series, India went into the lead in the 23rd minute through a Devender Walmiki strike. But Australia struck back-to-back goals in the last quarter through Jacob Whetton (47th) and Aran Zalewski (48th) to claim a well deserved victory. The Indian defenders and midfielders played good hockey to match the visitors’ for most part of the game.
But the strikers were guilty of not carrying off their finishing moves and the hosts also lacked in coming up with the decisive final pass. India though took the lead against the run of play in the second quarter when a counter-attack saw Amir Khan make a run down the left before picking out Walmiki inside the penalty circle. Walmiki made no mistake with a one-touch finish.
But India faced trouble in the fourth and final quarter with Australia scoring twice in two minutes. The frustration of the Indian players came to the fore when Manpreet Singh was shown a yellow card and handed a five minute penalty for a rough tackle.
