The title win is important before the Junior World Hockey Cup
Parmeshar Singh Ber Kalan : June 2, 2023
In the final of the FIH Hockey Junior Asia Cup, the Indian hockey team has once again become the Asian Junior Hockey Champion after defeating Pakistan 2-1. Korea beat Malaysia 2-1 to win the bronze medal. This was the ninth season of the FIH Hockey Junior Asia Cup and India won the title for the fourth time. The Indian team was playing the final of the tournament for the sixth time.
10 Asian countries hockey teams participated
The FIH Hockey Junior Asia Cup was played from May 23 to June 1 in the city of Salalah, Oman. In this tournament, young men’s hockey teams from 10 Asian countries faced each other. While these teams tried hard for the gold, silver and bronze medals, the top three teams among them have also earned the right to play in the upcoming FIH Junior Hockey World Cup (Men). The Junior World Cup Hockey Tournament 2023 is to be played in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and the Malaysian team has the right to play in this global tournament as the host.
Indian team scored a total of 50 goals
In the title match of the FIH Hockey Junior Asia Cup, India played aggressively from the start. Angadbir Singh and Arijit Singh Hundal scored 1-1 for India. The Indian team had a 2-0 lead at half time. However, as soon as the second half started, Pakistan’s Bashrat Ali put pressure on the Indian team by scoring their first goal in the 38th minute of the match, but after that both the teams could not score any goals. The Indian team scored a total of 50 goals in the tournament and proved to be the most successful team in the tournament. Individually, Pakistan’s Rehman Abdul and Japan’s Kumpei Yasuda scored 9 goals each to earn the distinction as the tournament’s top scorers.
Malaysia topped in pool B undefeated in the FIH Hockey Junior Asia Cup
India and Pakistan, known as traditional rivals in world hockey, both were included in Pool A. During the pool matches, both India and Pakistan won 3-3 matches from the opposing teams and played a very entertaining draw against each-other. India topped Group A thanks to a better goal average and both teams qualified for the semi-finals. In Pool B, Malaysia topped the table, winning all their pool matches while Korea finished second with 3 wins and one loss, which came at the hands of Malaysia.
FIH Hockey Junior Asia Cup: Both semi-final matches were almost one-sided
Both semi-final matches were almost one-sided as India and Pakistan dominated their Pool B opponents. With goals from 7 different players, including Bobby Singh Dhami’s hat-trick, India recorded a 9-1 victory over Korea. In the second semi-final, Pakistan defeated Malaysia 6-2 to reach the final. Rahman Abdul took himself to the top of the scoring charts by scoring three times to take Pakistan to the final.
Hockey India expresses happiness and announces cash prize for team and management
Expressing happiness over his team’s success, Indian team coach CR Kumar said “Overall we had a great tournament. It is a very proud achievement for our boys to take home the gold medal for the people of India. We prepared well for the Asia Cup last year with the Sultan of Johor Cup. It is important to practice well against European teams as well. Now we are looking forward to practice matches against Spain and Germany in preparation for the World Cup.
The Executive Board of Hockey India has announced a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh for the winning players and Rs 1 lakh for the team’s support staff. President of Hockey India, Padma Shri Dilip Tirkee while congratulating the team said, “The Indian Junior Men’s team has made us all very proud with their winning performance in the Junior Asia Hockey Cup. After the historic victory in the Sultan Johor Cup, with this big win, the dominance of the Indian team in Asia hockey has been re-established and I am sure that the Indian team will maintain this winning streak in the Junior World Hockey Cup at the end of this year.
