Reigning champions India concluded their pool duties at the AHF Junior Hockey Asia Cup 2026 with an unbelievable performance which saw them smash 15 goals against Chinese Taipei earlier todayCaptain Anmol Ekka led the charge as he bagged six goals alone, highlighting the Indians’ attacking prowess against an opponent that had absolutely no answers.
The result helped India finish on top of Pool A as they secured a semi-finale berth with 10 points after three spectacular wins and a drawSouth Korea will join them in the semis after finishing second with nine points following their hard fought 3-2 victory against Japan.
Among the teams that will compete in the classification matches are Japan, Indonesia and Chinese Taipei.
From a goalless first quarter to more than a dozen of goals
No one would have believed that India will score more than a dozen of goals after seeing their performance in the first quarter which remained goallessThe Indians enjoyed possession and created several goal scoring chances but Chinese Taipei produced their best defensive display in the first 15 minutesIt all went downwards in the next 45 minutes.
After head coach Frederic Sovez demanded more intensity from his players, Aryan Xess broke the deadlock in the 17th minute before Prabhdeep Singh and Gursewak Singh tripled India’s lead in the space of just five minutes.
In the 25th minute, Anmol Ekka joined the party by converting a penalty cornerThen Arjun Santosh Hargude scored India’s fifth goal two minutes before the end of the second quarter, while Anmol confirmed his brace from a set-piece just 60 seconds later as the boys in white headed into the half-time break with a 6-0 lead.
The relentless pressing from India continued in the third quarter with Chinese Taipei unable to contain and stop their opponents from entering the circleAnmol Ekka made the most out of the two penalty corners that the Indians won in the opening three minutes or so, completing his hat-trick before scoring his fourth a bit later.
Ajeet Yadav also found the back of the net in the 35th minute with a calm and composed finish10 minutes later, Anmol converted another penalty corner to confirm his fifth and India’s 10th goal of the day.
In the final 15 minutes, Harpal joined the scoresheet with a field goal in the 48th minute before Anmol Ekka completed an extraordinary individual performance by converting his sixth penalty corner of the match in the 51st minute.
Harpal then confirmed his own brace while Aryan Xess rounded up the match with another goal to tear through the Chinese Taipei defense by 15-0Despite scoring a double hat-trick, Anmol Ekka was not name player of the match as midfielder Manmeet Singh Rai received the honour for running the show in the middle of the park.
