Junior world cup: India rout Canada to set up last-8 date with Dutch

Kuala Lumpur, December 9

India trounced Canada 10-1 to enter the quarterfinals of the Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup here today. The win propelled India to the second position in Pool C.

India made an aggressive start and took the lead through Aditya Lalage (8th minute), who scored an excellent field goal. The Indian strikers forced the Canadian defenders to make errors, leading to penalty corners. Rohit converted one in the 12th minute. Canada pulled a goal back, courtesy Jude Nicholson (20th). However, Amandeep Lakra converted a penalty corner three minutes later.

India extended their lead in the third quarter through Vishnukant (42nd), who found the back of the net with a field goal. India made it 5-1 through Rajinder (42nd), and a minute later, Lalage (43rd) netted his second goal. Sourabh Kushwaha (51st), Lakra (52nd) and Rohit (55th) added three more goals before skipper Uttam Singh fired in the 10th goal a couple of minutes before the final hooter. Player of the Match Lalage said that his team “learnt from our mistakes against Spain”. “We will give our 100 per cent in the next game,” he said.

India will face Pool D winners Netherlands, who beat New Zealand 3-1, in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Spain finished on top of Pool C after beating South Korea 8-2. They will next take on Pakistan, who held Belgium to a 1-1 draw to finish second behind the Dutch. In the other quarterfinals, Argentina will play Germany, while Australia will take on France. — Agencies

Argentina face champs Netherlands in final

Santiago: Defending champions Netherlands destroyed England’s dreams of reaching the Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup final for the first time with an 8-1 hammering. The match didn’t look like a semifinal clash with the four-time champions having the ball possession for the maximum time and scoring goals at regular intervals. “We had made up our mind to play hard from the very first minute and that’s why we were able to score eight goals,” Player of the Match Jip Dicke said. In the other semifinal, Argentine goalkeeper Artola Mercedes put on a stunning performance as they beat Belgium in the shootout. After the score remained 0-0, two-time winners Argentina won 3-1 in the shootout. This will be the fourth final between the two teams, with Netherlands winning in 2009 and 2013 and Argentina winning in 2016.