The Bharatiya men’s hockey team displayed attacking efficiency in
their Pool A match to register a comprehensive victory against Singapore with a
resounding score of 16-1 in the ongoing 19th Asia Cup in Hangzhou.
The Bharatiya Team went into this match with immense confidence,
having recorded a resounding 16-0 victory in their tournament opener against
Uzbekistan on Sunday.
From the start of the match, the Bharatiya Team kept Singapore on
their toes as Manpreet got the ball just outside the D. He tried to find
someone forward but there was no one to receive the pass.
Attacking from left to right to start the match, skipper
Harmanpreet Singh made long passes inside the striking circle to test Singapore’s
defence.
Bharat’s quick movements with the ball troubled the opposition, but
Singapore defended in numbers to keep Bharat at bay.
Singapore goalkeeper Sandran Gugan made a crucial save after
Harmanpreet Singh struck a powerful hit on target from a penalty corner.
Mandeep Singh (12’) finally broke the deadlock after picking a pass
from Gurjant Singh and pushing the ball into the net to make it 1-0 for Bharat
at the end of the first quarter.
Bharat doubled their lead straight into the second quarter, with
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (16’) striking the ball into the nets, after receiving a
sublime pass from Sukhjeet Singh.
The floodgates were opened as Bharat hammered three quick goals in
three minutes. First, it was Gurjant Singh (22’) who tapped the ball into the
net after receiving a pass from Mandeep Singh.
A minute later, Vivek Sagar Prasad (23’) also deflected it into the
nets with a soft touch, and then Harmanpreet Singh (24’) opened up his goals
tally, scoring from a Penalty Corner to make it 5-0.
A fantastic variation in the Penalty Corner allowed Mandeep Singh
(30’) to get his second goal of the match late in the quarter, and Bharat went
into halftime with a 6-0 lead.
Bharat continued to put pressure at the start of the third quarter,
playing deep in Singapore’s half. Singapore mounted a dangerous attack of their
own but were stopped in their tracks by Jarmanpreet Singh.
Manpreet Singh (37’) made the most of another variation in the
Penalty Corner, as he deflected the ball into the nets to make it 7-0 for Bharat.
A minute later, Shamsher Singh (38’) made a powerful strike to extend Bharat’s
lead to 8-0.
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh (39’, 40’, 42’) showcased his supreme
form with the flicks as he converted three consecutive Penalty Corners to make
it 11-0 for Bharat to end the third quarter.
Singapore started pushing deep in their own half to prevent Bharat
from creating any more attacks in the final quarter.
Dribbling past the Singaporean defence, Mandeep Singh (51’) pushed
the ball into the nets to complete his hat-trick and made it 12-0 for Bharat.
Abhishek (51’, 52’) scored twice in two minutes, making the most of
errors from Singapore defenders. A surprise counter-attack from Singapore led
to Zaki Zulkarnain (53’) scoring a goal for his team.
Varun Kumar (55’, 55’) added his name to the scoresheet, scoring
twice from Penalty Corners as Bharat won the match 16-1.
Bharatiya men’s hockey team will next face off against Japan on
Thursday.
ANI
