The Indian men’s hockey team smacked six goals in the final quarter for 16-0 victory against Indonesia and reached Super 4s. India’s qualification to the next level closed the doors for Pakistan. India needed to win the Pool A contest by at least a 15-0 margin to qualify and the young players of the side performed very well under pressure. India and Pakistan had four points each in Pool A behind Japan but the defending champions qualified for the Super 4s due to better goal difference.
Pakistan on the other hand lost to Japan.
Dipsan Tirkey and Abharan Sudev scored hat-tricks and helped India seal their position in the Super 4s in the ongoing Asia Cup.
How India’s performance was in Asia Cup 2022?
- First Match: INDIA draws with Pakistan 1-1
- Second Match: India lost to Japan 2-5
- Third Match: India beat Indonesia 16-0
Japan beat Pakistan earlier in the day.
India needed to defeat Indonesia to knockout Pakistan and qualify for Super 4s. They needed to win by a margin of 15 goals to seal their progress into the knockouts.
India will play the World Cup later in the year and hence Hockey India decided to send young players to this tournament for exposure.
India needed to score two heading into the final five minutes of the game. Fortunately for India, their stars delivered from a series of penalty corners to go 16-0 ahead, and seal the game and a place in the Super 4s.
The win is more special for Men in Blue since it knocked out Pakistan from the competition.
Indian Hockey Team squad
Goalkeepers – Pankaj Kumar Rajak, Suraj Karkera;
Defenders – Yashdeep Siwach, Abhisek Lakra, Birendra Lakra (c), Manjeet, Dipsan Tirkey;
Midfielders – Vishnukant Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Mareeswaren Sakthivel, Sheshe Gowda BM, Simranjeet Singh;
Forwards – Pawan Rajbhar, Abharan Sudev, SV Sunil (vc), Uttam Singh, S. Karthi;
Replacements – Maninder Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess
Read more: IPL 2022 Closing Ceremony: Everything you need to know
