Rosan Khujur and Dilraj Singh each scored twice as India overwhelmed Chile 7-0 to kick off their FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup campaign with a commanding victory on Friday.
After a goalless first quarter,
Rosan (16th, 21st minutes) scored two field goals, while Dilraj (25th, 34th) also found the net twice. Ajeet Yadav (35th), Anmol Ekka (48th), and captain Rohit (60th) were the other goal scorers for India.
India, ranked second in the Under-21 category, will face Oman in their second Pool B match on Saturday.
The Indian team dominated possession in the first quarter but couldn’t create clear scoring opportunities. Chile’s defence held firm, preventing India’s forwards from making an impact.
India had a promising chance towards the end of the first quarter with their first penalty corner, but captain Rohit’s flick was well defended by the Chilean team.
India finally broke the deadlock a minute into the second quarter when Rosan scored from inside the circle after being set up by Manmeet Singh, who collected an aerial ball from deep in front of the D.
A minute later, Manmeet missed a golden opportunity when his reverse hit narrowly missed the Chilean goal.
Rosan doubled India’s lead in the 21st minute with a skilful stick work, dodging past two defenders and Chile goalkeeper Nicolas Troncoso after receiving a pass from Arshdeep Singh.
India continued their aggressive play, earning their second penalty corner in the 25th minute. Dilraj capitalised on a rebound after the Chilean keeper saved the initial flick.
The Indians dominated the first half, particularly in the second quarter, with most of the play confined to Chile’s half.
India extended their lead four minutes into the second half when Dilraj scored his second goal after receiving a pass from Ankit Pal. A minute later, Ajeet added his name to the scoresheet with a high reverse hit after a pass from Gurjot Singh.
Chile had their first opportunity in the 40th minute with a penalty corner but failed to convert.
India made it 6-0 in the 48th minute as Ekka converted the home team’s third penalty corner perfectly.
India missed another scoring chance in the 57th minute with another penalty corner.
In the final moments, India were awarded a penalty stroke, and captain Rohit converted it without error. India earned two consecutive penalty corners just before full time but didn’t capitalise on them.
In the first match of the day, New Zealand defeated China 5-3 in Pool C. Jonty Elmes (8th, 25th, 25th) scored a hat-trick for New Zealand, with Owen Brown (18th) and Sam Lints (23rd) also scoring. China responded through Yubo Wang (35th, 55th) and Jialiang Zhang (51st).
In another Pool C match, two-time champions Argentina beat Japan 4-1. Nicolas Rodriguez (2nd, 56th minutes) scored twice from penalty corners, while Mateo Torrigiani (24th) and Bruno Correa (51st) scored field goals for Argentina. Japan’s Naru Kimura scored their lone goal in the 53rd minute.
In the penultimate match, Switzerland defeated Oman 4-0 in Pool B. Jonathan Baumbach (15th), Mattia Ribaudo (23rd), Léonard Kraxner (33rd), and Alessio Brunold (58th) were the goal scorers for Switzerland.
The tournament is being co-hosted by Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10.
With PTI Inputs
