Moqi , Skipper Anmol Ikka smashed a whopping six goals as defending champions India ended their pool engagements with a 15-0 rout of Chinese Taipei to enter the men’s semifinals of the Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament here on Wednesday.
Semi-Finalists Confirmed from Pool A
The five-time champions topped Pool A, finishing with 10 points from three wins and a draw. South Korea secured the second semi-final spot in the pool after narrowly defeating Japan 3-2, ending with nine points.
Gursewak Singh then made it 3-0 in the 22nd minute, giving India three goals in the space of five minutes. With India firmly in control, Anmol continued his remarkable scoring run, converting another penalty corner in the 45th minute to bring up his fifth goal of the match and take India into double figures at 10-0 by the end of the third quarter. The defending champions showed no signs of easing off in the final 15 minutes. The final whistle confirmed a resounding 15-0 victory for India and a place in the semi-finals.
Aryan Xess opened India’s account in the 17th minute, before Prabhdeep Singh doubled the advantage a minute later. The defender converted a penalty corner in the 25th minute to register his first goal of the evening. Arjun Santosh Hargude added another in the 28th minute, before Anmol struck again from a set-piece in the next minute. Harpal joined the scoring spree with a field goal in the 48th minute, before Anmol completed an extraordinary individual performance by converting his sixth penalty corner of the match in the 51st minute. Harpal then added his second goal, while Aryan Xess rounded it off with two goals to his name as India tore apart the Taipei defence.
