India’s ball control and elimination skills, speed and drag-flicking prowess overwhelmed reserve nation Canada in the FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup Pool ‘B’ encounter at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, November 25.
The carnage resulted in a 13-1 scoreline on a day when it rained goals – 70 from six matches with three event records being broken.
India may well rejoice after an opening match defeat to France on Wednesday but one suspects celebration will be muted.
Poland are next up on Saturday and even an emphatic win is not likely to fetch top place in the pool.
Playing earlier, France thumped Poland 7-1 to put one foot in the last eight. Unless Canada upset France which appears unlikely, India are on a collision course against their 2016 final adversaries Belgium in the quarterfinals – not a comfortable prospect by any reckoning.
If any three goals constitute a hat-trick, then Sanjay, with a triple strike and Araijeet Singh Hundal with as many, performed the feat today – the first-named notching his second in as many days.
Victors’ smile. Photo by Shamim Qureshi
The other goals were scored by Uttam Singh and Sharda Nand Tiwari (2 each), and one apiece by captain Vivek Sagar Prasad, Maninder Singh and Abhishek Lakra.
Sanjay is looking ominous from drag flicks and the well-built defender slammed in two from the set-piece after scoring his first from a penalty stroke.
India’s penalty corner battery looks promising at the moment with goals from the set-piece also coming from Tiwari (twice), Hundal and Lakra that went along with Sanjay’s strikes.
India surged into a 2-0 lead by the eighth minute, Uttam and Prasad on target after the impressive Maninder played the role of provider.
Sanjay made it 3-0 from the dreaded spot after forcing the award from the first of India’s 11 penalty corners before Maninder turned goal scorer from provider with a nifty reverse flick.
India scored six goals from 11 penalty corners for a healthy conversion rate but a couple of such awards were wasted for poor trapping – something that could prove crucial in sterner battles to come.
India – Canada at Jr World Cup 2021
Canada enjoyed a brief moment of success when Christopher Tardiff struck from the third and last penalty corner his team forced on the dot of half time but thereafter the North Americans were sunk by a tidal wave of blue shirts.
Head coach Graham Reid was pleased with the comeback of his team after an opening day setback. “We needed a good start today and we got quick goals. “It was quick learning after the defeat but there’s work to be done. The best way to learn is to make mistakes and today we were leaky at the back,” the coach of the bronze medal-winning India team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics said.
Sanjay gave insights on his fast becoming lethal prowess at drag flicks and revealed he’s been speaking to key players in the senior team – notably Harmanpreet Singh.
He also confirmed that his No.7 shirt is inspired by his idol, football megastar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Reid, on his part, refused to be drawn into a discussion about Sanjay’s prospects of clinching spot in the senior team.
The Australian looked forward to the match against Poland and possibly beyond.
“Yes, Wednesday’s defeat means we most likely won’t win the pool and would probably mean a date with World No. 1 Belgium. “But to win the World Cup, you must be able to beat any team in the competition,” he affirmed.
DAY 2 ROUND UP
Argentina, 2005 champions, overwhelmed another reserve nation Egypt 14-0 to better India’s 13-0 over Singapore in 1982. Later in the day, Spain routed USA, also reserves, 17-0 to better Argentina’s record that lasted just a few hours.
In between, The Netherlands outplayed South Korea 12-5 in a goal glut that registered the highest scoring match in the Junior World Cup.
In lowest-scoring encounter of the day, France kept up their sizzling show with a 7-1 win over Poland to keep on course towards winning the group and avoiding Belgium in the quarterfinals.
Reid attributed the exaggerated scorelines in the last couple of days to defences struggling to find their feet amid the Covid crisis that has denied teams from adequate exposure and international matches.
“It’s all very well to play your senior team in practice matches but in tournament play with nerves playing a part along with the prestige and passion, defensive structures have come under pressure,” he said.
Lanky Arai Jeet Singh Hundal, a product of former player Balwinder Singh’s Ranjit Academy, struck a hattrick in India’s 13-1 magic.
First goal: Uttam Singh
Second goal: Vivek Sagar Prasad
3rd goal: Sanjay
4th Goal: Maninder Singh
5th Goal: Sanjay
6th Goal Shardanand Tiwari
7th Goal: Arai Jeet Singh Hundal
9th Goal: Arai Jeet Singh Hundal
10th Goal: Arai Jeet Singh Hundal
11th goal: Shardanand Tiwari
12th goal: Ankit Pal
13th Goal: