Bhubaneswar: The Indian colts defeated Poland 8-2 to advance to the knockout stage of the FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup 2021 at the Kalinga Stadium. The Indians were expected to dominate this Polish team and they have done exactly that.
Sudeep, Sanjay, and Araijeet each scored a brace, while Shardanand and Uttam Singh each added one to round off the sweep. The Indians still have a lot of work to do, but for now it’s time to break back and relax for a day or two, and hopefully Maninder Singh, who was stretchered off the field, will be back in shape by then.
India scored the game’s first goal early on, with drag flicker Sanjay opening the scoring. India’s number seven scored his seventh goal of the tournament. Moreover, India had a strong ability to convert PCs into goals, since the majority of the goals were scored this way.
“Pretty pleased with the first half. We wanted to start quickly, put them some scoreboard pressure and we have done exactly that,” said Indian coach Graham Reid at halftime as India’s domination was clearly seen all the way through.
Although Poland tried enough to press but until the third quarter it was not enough to beat India. By that time, India had already scored 6 goals while Poland were goalless.
In the mean time, skipper Vivek Sagar Prasad had been shown a green card for a dangerous tackle. While India had a big blow as Maninder had pulled his hamstring there. He was being pulled off in a stretcher.
Poland struck it rich in the fourth quarter, putting its 7th PC slot to good use. India’s ambition of finishing the group stage with a clean slate came to an end there. Another goal from Polish team was from the field.
Congratulations to France and India for entering the quarter finals of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's Junior World Cup 2021.
Well played Poland and Canada. They will now play the classification matches.#RisingStars #JWC2021 #HockeyInvites pic.twitter.com/AMig3avyoO
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) November 27, 2021
India’s World Cup campaign got off to a disastrous start, with a 4-5 loss to underdogs France. With the title on the line, the colts, led by Vivek Sagar Prasad, responded with a 13-1 victory over Canada to get things back on track. Things, on the other hand, were far from over, as today’s tremendous triumph demonstrated, with the lads in blue to compete in the quarterfinals against Belgium.
