Asia Cup Hockey: Dominant India maul Bangladesh 7-0
Hockey | October 13, 2017 20:12 ISTRanked 6th in the world, Indians were no match for their less-fancied rivals as they controlled the proceedings from start to finish en route their emphatic win.
Ranked 6th in the world, Indians were no match for their less-fancied rivals as they controlled the proceedings from start to finish en route their emphatic win.
India's win against Japan was a winning debut for Sjoerd Marijne as the national coach.
SV Sunil (3'), Lalit Upadhyay (22'), Ramandeep Singh (33'), Harmanpreet Singh (35', 48') were the goal-scorers for India as they beat Japan in the opening game of Asia Cup 2017.
The Asia Cup will be the beginning of new phase in Indian hockey as it would be newly-appointed coach Sjoerd Marijne's first test post the sacking of Roelant Oltmans.
India have been placed in Pool A in the Asia Cup and will open their campaign against Japan on October 11 before taking on hosts Bangladesh on October 13 followed mouth-watering clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 15.
Pakistan have been placed in Pool A alongside India, Japan and hosts Bangladesh.
Goals from Ireen van den Assem (12th, 45th minute) and Imke Hoek (57th minute) were enough for the hosts to register the win against the visitors as Navdeep (47th minute) was the lone player to be on target for India.
The Indian team fought back into the match in the dying stages as Vandana Katariya (54th minute) scored with just a few minutes left to full time and equalise the scores at 2-2.
Former India player Harendra is all set to take over as the coach of the India women's senior team for the first time in his career.
World Cup-winning junior coach Harendra Singh has been appointed as the High Performance Specialist Coach for the India women's team.
Besides India, World League champions Australia and Germany, Pool B also features seventh placed England, who are the reigning bronze medallist in the Euro Hockey Nations Championship.
Javelin thrower Jhajharia is the only Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals (2004 and 2016) - while star mid-fielder Sardar Singh has been the architect of India hockey team's many victories in the last few years.
The Green Shirts, currently ranked 14th in the FIH standings, ended seventh in the World League Semi-Finals in London, where the likes of Germany, England, Netherlands and Belgium earned World Cup qualification by finishing in the top five.
India straightaway sought to put pressure on the home team and the positive intent worked as they drew first blood through a penalty corner awarded in the fourth minute.
India conceded the solitary goal in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter and final 15 minutes with Tom Boon (60th minute) finding the net for the hosts.
Known for his terrific fitness levels not only in India but worldwide, Sardar was included in the 18-man FIH All Star team in 2010 and 2011.
The 36-year-old Jhajharia, who is the first Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals in javelin throw event, was the first choice of the awards selection committee headed by Justice (Retd) C K Thakkar.
Junior World Cup heroes Varun Kumar, Dipsan Tirkey, Nilakanta Sharma, Gurjant Singh and Armaan Qureshi have been named in India hockey squad for the tour of Belgium and Netherlands.
In Women's division, Japan claims victory over India in the semi-final stage as they beat the Blue's 2-0 in the Hockey World League.
Argentina were too quick for India as they attacked right from the start. India drew a blank as they were left defenseless in the Semi-Finals and will face England in the Quarter-finals tomorrow.
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