An aggressive India relied on Sanjay, Araijeet Singh Hundal and Sudeep Chirmako’s braces to beat Poland 8-2 to record its second win and qualify for the quarterfinals of the men’s hockey Junior World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Saturday.
In its last Pool B match, India earned five cards, including three yellow, while pressing hard to ensure a much-needed victory. The host, which placed second in Pool B with six points, will face Pool A topper Belgium in the last-eight clash.
Dominant start
India began on a dominating note, scoring twice and putting pressure in the opening quarter.
Sanjay drew first blood with a low flick.
Hundal’s powerful and high flick in the seventh minute made it 2-0.
Chirmako then foxed a defender to fire home a spectacular goal in the 24th minute as India led 3-0 at half-time.
After the change of ends, captain Vivek Sagar Prasad sneaked past three defenders and set up Uttam who made no mistake. Shardanand Tiwari and Chirmako added to India’s tally.
Poland finally put some pressure on India, earning several penalty corners on either side of the third break. W. Rutowski scored off the seventh corner before Robert Pawlak narrowed the margin. However, Sanjay and Hundal helped India pull away again.
The results:
Pool A: Malaysia bt South Africa 4-3, Belgium bt Chile 3-0; Pool B: France bt Canada 11-1; India 8 (Sanjay 4, 58, Araijeet Singh Hundal 7, 60, Sudeep Chirmako 24, 40, Uttam Singh 34, Shradanand Tiwari 38) bt Poland 2 (Wojciech Rutkowski 50, Robert Pawlak 54); Pool D: Pakistan bt Egypt 3-1.
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