India beat Pakistan, Oman in Youth Hockey's Asian Championship

The Indian sub-junior boys’ team maintained its winning run, outplaying Pakistan and Oman in the Elite Pool of the FIH Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship here.

Led by Ketan Kushwaha, India first registered an emphatic 14-0 win over Oman, with the skipper scoring four goals (6’, 11’, 15’, 20’). Ashish Tani Purti (1’, 16’, 19’) struck a hat-trick, while Rahul Yadav (2’, 12’) and Shahrukh Ali (3’, 13’) scored braces. Prahalad Rajbhar (9’), Karan Gautam (15’) and Romit Pal (18’) also found the back of the net.

Against Pakistan, India prevailed 7-4, with Karan Gautam (5’, 9’, 19’) completing a hat-trick. Rahul Yadav (3’), Prahalad Rajbhar (10’), captain Kushwaha (11’) and Romit Pal (11’) were the other scorers for India. Aslam Muhammad Farhan (6’), Adeel (8’) and Usman Muhammad (10’, 16’) scored for Pakistan.

The Indian sub-junior girls, meanwhile, were held to a 2-2 draw by China before thrashing Uzbekistan 16-0 in another Elite Pool match.

Trailing for most of the contest after Chen Ge (4’) put China ahead, India fought back through Nousheen Naz (16’, 17’), who scored twice to give her side the lead. However, Jiaxin Guo (19’) netted a late equaliser to earn China a share of the points.

India then rounded off the day with a dominant win over Uzbekistan, Nousheen Naz (6’, 9’, 15’, 16’) once again scoring four goals. Sandeepa Kumari (2’, 6’, 20’) and captain Sweety Kujur (10’, 13’, 20’) struck hat-tricks, while Diya (3’, 17’) and Pushpa Manjhi (11’, 13’) added braces. Kiran Ekka (8’) and Nilam Topno (18’) also got on the scoresheet.

The tournament serves as a qualifier for the inaugural FIH Youth Hockey5s World Cup.