Goals galore as AHF Junior Men Asia Cup hockey starts at Salalah

Goals were galore as the AHF Junior Men Asia Cup Hockey Tournament got under way at Sultan Qaboos Youth Centre for Culture and Entertainment  at Salalah in Oman on Tuesday.

While Pakistan recorded the biggest win of the day – 15-1 against Chinese Taipei – other pre-tournament favorites, Malaysia and Japan were equally impressive in their big wins.

Defending champions India opens its campaign on Wednesday when it takes on Chinese Taipei.

Malaysia defeated Uzbekistan 8-1. In the third game of the day, Japan had a comfortable 7-1 win over Thailand.

Interesting feature of the first three games of the inaugural day was the hat-trick of goals recorded by players of each of the winning teams. In the match between Pakistan and Chinese Taipei, two players – Muhammad Khan and Shahid Abdul – had personal hat-tricks of goals to their credit. Pakistan led 5-0 at the half time and went on a scoring rampage in the second half, adding 10 more while conceding one in the 55^th minute.

When Japan defeated Thailand 7-1, the focus was on young striker Tanaka  Tumbasa who notched up the first hat-trick of field goals.

Penalty corner striker Tengaraja Perabu played a major role in Malaysia’s 8-1 win over Uzbekistan. He also had to his credit a hat-trick of goals.

Prahbjot Singh