Muscat: The Indian sub-junior men’s hockey team won the FIH Youth Hockey Fives Asian Championship in spectacular fashion by defeating its traditional rivals Pakistan 3-1 in the final. With this win, India achieved the distinction of becoming Asian champions and also secured the top position in the elite pool table.
In the final match, India played aggressively from the beginning. Romit Pal gave the team an early lead by scoring a goal in the fifth minute. India was leading 1-0 at the end of the first half.
In the second half, the Indian team further strengthened its lead. Captain Ketan Kushwaha scored the second goal in the 12th minute, while a minute later Shahrukh Ali scored the third goal to put India in a strong position of 3-0.
For Pakistan, Mohammad Usman tried to reduce the gap by scoring a goal in the 16th minute, but the Indian defense line did not allow any more goals till the last minute. As a result, India won the gold medal by winning the match 3-1.
By reaching the final of this competition, both India and Pakistan had already qualified for the first FIH Youth Hockey Fives World Cup.
In the final of the women’s category, the Indian sub-junior team had to face defeat by 2-4 against China. Despite this, the Indian team finished runner-up in the competition and won the silver medal.
Hockey India has announced a reward of ₹2 lakh to each player of the gold medal winning men’s team and ₹1 lakh to each member of the support staff. Each player of the silver medal winning women’s team will be given a prize of Rs 1 lakh and each member of the support staff will be given a prize of Rs 50 thousand.
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