India easily defeated Chile 7-0 in their FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup opening match on Friday with to braces from Rosan Khujur and Dilraj Singh.
Following a scoreless first quarter, Dilraj scored in the 25th and 34th minutes, while Rosan scored twice in the 16th and 21st. Ajeet Yadav (35th), Anmol Ekka (48th), and skipper Rohit (60th) completed the scoring for India.
India will face Oman in their second Pool B match on Saturday.
Despite dominating possession early on, the Indians—who were rated second in the Under-21 division—had trouble creating clean scoring opportunities during the first quarter. India’s first penalty corner, taken by captain Rohit, was expertly saved as Chile’s defense held firm.
A minute into the second quarter, Manmeet Singh set up Rosan, who scored from close range after receiving an aerial pass from well in front of the D. Rosan extended the lead in the 21st minute with great stick movement, sliding between two players and Chile goalkeeper Nicolas Troncoso after a ball from Arshdeep Singh.
India’s pressure continued with a second penalty corner in the 25th minute, and Dilraj scored off a rebound after the Chilean custodian saved the first flick. India had complete control at the end of the first half, mainly limiting play to Chile’s half.
Four minutes into the second half, Dilraj scored his second goal thanks to a feed from Ankit Pal. With Gurjot Singh’s help, Ajeet added another one a minute later with a high reverse hit.
India’s third penalty corner was converted by Ekka in the 48th minute to make it 6-0, and captain Rohit’s penalty stroke only 49 seconds from the end completed the 7-0 victory. India won two more penalty corners in the last seconds but failed to convert them.
In other Pool C action, New Zealand defeated China 5-3, with Jonty Elmes scoring a hat-trick. Switzerland defeated Oman 4-0 in Pool B, while Argentina defeated Japan 4-1 thanks to a brace from Nicolas Rodriguez.
The event is being co-hosted by Chennai and Madurai and will run from November 28 to December 10.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.