Junior World Cup: Goal-hungry India feast on Canada

Santiago, November 30

The Indian team made a resounding start to its FIH Women’s Junior Hockey World Cup campaign by securing a commanding 12-0 victory over Canada here.

Mumtaz Khan scored four goals, while Annu and Deepika Soreng scored three goals each. Dipi Monika Toppo and Neelam grabbed one goal each on Wednesday.

India began the match with an attacking approach, and swiftly secured an early advantage as Annu scored two early goals (4th and 6th minutes) through penalty corners.

Despite taking a two-goal lead, India persisted with their aggressive style, maintaining pressure on Canada. However, they were unable to find more goals in the opening quarter as it ended 2-0 in their favour.

The momentum from the first quarter was carried into the second by India, who continued their dominance. They maintained possession, consistently penetrating the circle, resulting in Dipi (21st) and Mumtaz (26th) netting a field goal each, further extending India’s lead.

In the meantime, Canada won a penalty corner but they were unable to make the most of it. As the second quarter concluded, the Indian team enjoyed a commanding 4-0 lead.

Despite having a healthy lead, the Indian team showed no signs of slowing down in the third quarter and continued to dominate the proceedings with Deepika (34th) converting a penalty corner, following which Annu (39th) completed her hat-trick, while Mumtaz (41st) scored her second goal of the match.

Also, Neelam (45th) smashed home her shot from a penalty corner to make it 8-0 for India by the end of the penultimate quarter.

The Indian team’s hunger for goals continued in the fourth quarter, resulting in strikes from Deepika (50th, 54th) and Mumtaz (54th, 60th) as they completed their hat-tricks.

India will next lock horns with Germany. “Our team has been working very hard for this tournament for the last one year. We made some mistakes today as well, but we will try to rectify all those mistakes and score more goals when we meet Germany in our next match,” Deepika said. In the other Pool C match, Belgium hammered European champions Germany 6-0. — Agencies

Harman to lead India in Valencia

New Delhi: Ace drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh will lead a 24-member Indian hockey squad in the 5-Nations Tournament, scheduled to be held in Valencia from December 15 to 22. The tournament, which will serve as a preparatory event ahead of the Pro League season, will see India play against Spain, Germany, France and Belgium. “The tournament provides us with a great platform to try out different things and adjust ourselves accordingly,” chief coach Craig Fulton said.

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