- India beat Canada 3-0 in their second match at the Hero Hockey World League Semi-Final in London.
- SV Sunil (5’), Akashdeep Singh (10’) and Sardar Singh (18’) scored for India.
- India will play Pakistan in their third Pool B match on 18 June (Sunday) at 6.30 pm IST.
- The match will be telecast on Star Sports 2 HD and Star Sports 2.
India came up with a clinical all-round performance to beat Canada 3-0 in their second match of the Hero Hockey World League Semi-Final in London on Saturday.
After they thrashed Scotland in their opening game, goals by SV Sunil (5'), Akashdeep Singh (10') and Sardar Singh (18') helped India register their second successive win in Pool B and top the table.
Ahead of India’s next game against Pakistan on Sunday, captain Manpreet Singh said:
We want to give our best against Pakistan. Cricket also playing Champions Trophy final and we are confident that India will win in cricket as well as in hockey.
India displayed brilliant counter-attacking skills from word go which resulted in winning a penalty corner in the opening minute of the match. It was forward SV Sunil at the baseline who found the foot of Canadian defender but the chance went amiss with Harmanpreet Singh’s powerful flick going above the post.
The forwards, however, were impeccable as they kept up the pace to find gaps in the Canadian circle. Sunil found an early breakthrough in the 5th minute when he fired across from the baseline to put the ball in the post.
The 1-0 lead was doubled in the 10th minute with Akashdeep Singh who timed his run perfectly to receive from Ramandeep Singh from the top of the circle to deflect the ball past Canadian keeper David Carter. India went into the first break with a solid 2-0 lead.
India continued to put pressure on Canada with their third goal in the 18th minute to take a formidable 3-0 lead. It was Ramandeep Singh on the counter attack who accelerated towards the circle to push the ball towards Sardar Singh who had doubled up as a forward. The celebrated midfielder was effortless in nicking the ball into the post leaving no chance for Carter to save.
The third quarter saw India keep up the tempo with an all-round performance. They were calm in their pursuit, rotating the ball with disciplined passes and good man-to-man marking that helped defend their score. Vikas Dahiya, who substituted Akash Chikte at the goalpost after half time, made two good saves when Canada came close to having a real good shot on goal.
India won two back-to-back PCs this quarter but Canadian defence was strong enough to keep the dangerous dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh from converting.
India started the fourth quarter with just nine players with both captain Manpreet Singh and his deputy Chinglensana Singh sitting out with a green and yellow card respectively. But that didn’t dent India’s chances as they contained Canada from taking advantage.
Canada won their second PC with less than two minute for the final hooter but a great stop by Surender Kumar denied Canada from converting and India walked away with the winning points yet again.
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