It was India all the way in the men’s Junior Asia Cup Final as they defeated Pakistan 6-2 in an exhilarating display of attacking hockey at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Malaysia.
In the eighth edition of this tournament, man of the moment was Harmanpreet Singh, who scored four penalty corners, three of them in the first half of the match.
India had taken a 2-0 lead in the first quarter of the game through Singh, catching Pakistan on the back foot with the speed of their attack, Pakistan came back through Muhammad Yaqoob just before half-time to make it 2-1. This was only a temporary setback however to the team in blue as they extended their lead to 3-1 as the half-time whistle went.
In the second half, India doubled their score, with Armaan Qureshi and Manpreet Singh adding two field goals alongside Harmanpreet Singh’s penalty corner. Pakistan scored a consolation through Muhammed Dilber but it was too late for the three time champions to make a comeback.
The bronze medal went to Korea after they beat Japan in a narrow 2-1 match. This match was the culmination of a good tournament for Korea’s Shahril Saabah, who was named Player of the Tournament. Kim Sung Yeob and Ji Woo Chen scored two early goals for Korea, and despite a sustained attack from the Japanese in the closing minutes of the game, they could not find a way past Kim Gil Myung in the Korean goal.
Malaysia finished fifth after a dominant display that saw them beat Bangladesh 8-0 and China beat Oman 7-2 to finish seventh.
There was no surprise that Harmanpreet Singh won Top Goalscorer of the Tournament – he scored a total of 14 goals, and two other awards went India’s way – Harjeet Singh, India’s captain, won Man of the Match for his performance in the final and Vikas Dahiya was Goalkeeper of the Tournament. Japan won the Fair Play Award.
This year’s final was the third time these two teams had met in the final, with India’s latest victory giving them the upper hand. It also means both sides have now won the title three times each, Pakistan in 1987, ’92 and ’96, while India won in 2004, 2008 and this year. Malaysia and Korea are the other two teams to have their names on the trophy.
The prize for the teams finishing in the top four places – India, Pakistan, Korea and Japan – is automatic qualification for the Men’s Junior World Cup, which takes place in India in December 2016.
(Photo: Asian Hockey Federation)
