Johor Bahru (Malaysia), The Indian junior men’s hockey team trounced New Zealand 8-2 in their second match of the 9th Sultan of Johor Cup here on Sunday.
Sanjay (17′, 22′), Dilpreet Singh (6′), Shilanand Lakra (14′), Mandeep Mor (22′), Suman Beck (45′), Pratap Lakra (50′) and Sudeep Chirmako (51′) scored for India, while Dylan Thomas (28′, 44′) notched two goals for New Zealand.
India started the first quarter on an aggressive note, earning a penalty corner in the second minute, which was blocked by the New Zealand defenders.
Dilpreet Singh then scored a fantastic field goal to put India in the lead in the 6th minute. India continued to put pressure on the New Zealand half and their relentless aggressive game paid dividends when Shilanand Lakra found the back of the net in the 14th minute.
India rode on the momentum and struck their third goal at the start of the second quarter. Sanjay got into a fantastic position and found the breakthrough in the 17th minute.
India continued to make brilliant moves and find openings as captain Mandeep Mor slotted India’s fourth goal in the 20th minute. India earned another penalty corner a couple of minutes later and it was exquisitely converted by Sanjay to put India in a dominant position.
New Zealand managed to pull one back when they earned a penalty corner in the last few minutes of the second quarter. Dylan Thomas got New Zealand on the board in the 28th minute as the two sides went into their second break with India leading 5-1.
Early in the third quarter, Dylan Thomas found the back of the net yet to reduce the gap for New Zealand. However, in the next minute, India carried out a counter-attack and scored their sixth goal through Suman.
India continued to be the more aggressive side and earned a penalty corner at the start of the fourth quarter which was converted by Pratap Lakra in the 50th minute. Soon after, Uttam Singh made a brilliant run and set up a goal beautifully for Sudeep Chirmako, who struck India’s eighth goal.
India will face Japan in their next round robin league match on Tuesday.
