India Storm Into Junior Asia Cup Semis After 15-0 Rout of Chinese Taipei

Defending champions India produced a breathtaking attacking display to storm into the men’s Junior Asia Cup hockey semifinals, thrashing Chinese Taipei 15-0 in their final Pool A match on Wednesday.

Captain and defender Anmol Ikka was the star of the show, scoring an extraordinary six goals, all from penalty corners, as India transformed a frustrating opening quarter into a one-sided contest.

India dominated possession and created opportunities in the first 15 minutes but could not breach a determined Chinese Taipei defence. Coach Frederic Soyez used the quarter break to demand greater intensity, and his side responded almost immediately.

Aryan Xess opened the scoring in the 17th minute before Prabhdeep Singh doubled the lead just a minute later. Gursewak Singh then made it 3-0 in the 22nd minute, as India scored three times in five minutes.

Anmol joined the party in the 25th minute, converting a penalty corner. Arjun Santosh Hargude added another three minutes later before Anmol struck again to put India 6-0 ahead at half-time.

The defending champions accelerated further after the restart. Anmol converted two more penalty corners early in the third quarter to complete his hat-trick and then added another to move to four goals.

Ajeet Yadav also got on the scoresheet in the 35th minute, while Anmol completed his five-goal haul in the 45th minute. India entered the final quarter leading 10-0.

There was no let-up in the final 15 minutes. Harpal scored twice, while Anmol completed his remarkable six-goal performance with another penalty-corner conversion in the 51st minute. Aryan Xess added two more goals as India completed the emphatic 15-0 victory.

The result saw India finish top of Pool A with 10 points from three wins and a draw. South Korea secured the other semifinal spot after beating Japan 3-2 to finish second with nine points.

Japan, Indonesia and Chinese Taipei will now compete in the classification matches.