Picture Credit: Twitter
The Indian junior men's hockey team put on an electrifying display on Sunday evening at the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Salalah, Oman, when they thrashed Thailand by a scoreline of 17-0 in their Pool A match. The Indian team began the contest on the front foot, attacking Thailand, but were unable to break through in the early exchanges. Thailand not only absorbed the pressure but also looked to attack India, however, the latter edged ahead just before the end of the first quarter when Angad Bir Singh (13’) found the back of the net. But after that India went on to score 16 more goals and sealed the game 17-0 with ease. As a result, the Indian side won all the matches to progress to the semi-finals of Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023.
With this win, India has qualified for the FIH Junior Hockey Men's World Cup 2023, which will take place in Kuala Lumpur from December 5 to 16, 2023. India earned qualification after competing in the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023's final four rounds. The top three teams from the 2023 Men's Junior Asia Cup were supposed to qualify for the Junior World Cup, but since Malaysia received a straight entrance as the host nation, the other three semi-finalists have also qualified.
“This was our only chance to prove ourselves and qualify for the Junior World Cup and we have done good so far. I have faith in this team and our preparation and am hoping to be in the final and do well against whichever team we face,” Kumar said on Monday. India will see the winner of Malaysia vs South Korea in the semi-finals.