Hockey

Salalah: India kicked off their campaign in the Men's Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament here with a solid 18-0 win against Chinese Taipei in their first Pool A match. Araijeet Singh Hundal (19', 19', 30', 59) starred in the match for India, scoring four goals on Wednesday evening, while Amandeep (37', 38', 41') netted a hat-trick. Captain Uttam Singh (10', 59'), Boby Singh Dhami (11', 46') and Chandura boby Poovanna ('9', 54') scored a brace while Aditya Arjun Lalage (37'), Sharda Nand Tiwari (11'), Angad Bir Singh (37'), Amir Ali (51'), and Rawat Yogember (60') also scored a goal each, Hockey India informed in a release. India pressed early on in the match, earning themselves a crucial penalty corner. But Sharda Nand Tiwari's flick was defended by Chinese Taipei. Captain Uttam Singh (10') broke the opposition's resistance and scored the first goal for India, and a few seconds later, Boby Singh Dhami (11') doubled India's lead with a powerful strike. Sharda Nand Tiwari (11') added in the third goal for India from a penalty corner as India finished the first quarter with a 3-0 lead. India continued their dominance in possession in the second half and managed to earn another penalty corner. But this time, the shot from Rohit was stopped in its track. A minute later, Araijeet Singh Hundal (19', 19') scored twice in a row to further extend India's lead and increase pressure on the opposition. At the stroke of halftime, Araijeet (30') struck a powerful shot towards the bottom right corner of the nets to complete his hat-trick and extend India's lead to 6-0. Trailing by six goals, Chinese Taipei started showing urgency at the start of the third quarter. But India quickly regained possession and Boby Singh Dhami penetrated inside the circ ...