FIH Junior Hockey Men's World Cup: Raining Goals

CHENNAI: With a cyclone looming over the coast, India unleashed a storm of their own in a ruthless 17-0 win over Oman. Dilraj Singh scored four, while Arshdeep Singh and Manmeet Singh completed hat-tricks.

India settled early in the first quarter, building smoothly through the middle. Arshdeep, picking up from where he left off on Friday, exchanged passes with Rosan Kujur before darting along the baseline. A faint drop of the shoulder gave him space to slot the ball in from the narrowest angle for the opening goal.

It did not take long for the hosts to earn their first penalty corner, which they hit straight at goalkeeper Ahmed Al Naabi, who stayed sharp and made it difficult for India to extend their lead.

Manipuri defender Talem Priyobarta had a fine opening created by a penalty corner in the first quarter, but he flicked it wide.

The second quarter began with yet another penalty corner for India, but they again failed to convert. It was a sequence of back-to-back chances, with the side rotating their hitters after looking more assured on set pieces against Chile. They wasted ten penalty corners before finally scoring through an Ajeet Yadav injection, which Anmol Ekka finished calmly.

With about 12 minutes left in the second quarter, Manmeet found the back of the net again, taking a sharp first touch inside the circle to score. Moments later, he added his second, stopping on the reverse and lifting the ball over the onrushing Al Naabi.

Dilraj then found the roof of the net, sending India into half-time with a 5-0 lead.

India resumed in the third quarter with the same intensity, keeping the Oman defence under constant pressure. At one point, the goals came so quickly that even those watching struggled to keep count, as India piled forward with ease.

Arshdeep soon completed his hat-trick with a strong backhand strike that brought up India’s 11th goal. Before that, Manmeet had also sealed his treble after combining well with Gurjot Singh.

Forward Dilraj added his third and fourth as rains and winds began to pick up.

Sharda Nand Tiwari also joined the scoresheet, rounding off another India goal as the hosts completed a remarkable match filled with hat-tricks.