The Men’s Jr. Indian hockey team will play against arch-rival Pakistan on May 27, Saturday at the Men’s Junior Asia Cup in Salalah, Oman.
New Delhi: The Men’s Jr. Indian hockey team will play against arch-rivals Pakistan on May 27, Saturday at the Men’s Junior Asia Cup in Salalah, Oman.
The junior Indian hockey team started their campaign on a positive note by winning two games in a row against Chinese Taipei and Japan comprehensively. On Saturday, the Jr. Hockey team will focus on continuing their winning streak in the group stage.
India registered a record-breaking 18-0 win against Chinese Taipei in their first match, followed by a come-from-behind 3-1 win against Japan on Thursday with Araijeet Singh Hundal (36′), Sharda Nand Tiwari (39′), and Uttam Singh (56′) scoring a goal each.
Meanwhile, Pakistan also began their campaign on a promising note as they crushed Chinese Taipei by 15-1 and defeated Thailand comprehensively by 9-0 in their second game to remain unbeaten like India in the pool A of the Men’s Junior Asia Cup.
Indian junior team head coach CR Kumar feels that playing against Pakistan is always a challenge but the boys have trained well and hopeful of getting a good result against their arch-rivals.
“Playing against Pakistan is always a challenge. But we have trained well, and if we focus on what we have been learning over the past few months, we will be able to get a good result out of this game. We have to keep our calm and play to our strengths,” Kumar said.
Both hockey arch-rivals last faced each other, long time back in the 2015 Men’s Junior Asia Cup Final. India won that match by 6-2. Since 2011, the Indian junior men’s hockey team and the Pakistan junior men’s hockey team have met each other seven times, with India having the upper hand by winning five times and Pakistan winning once, with one match ending in a tie. India will play Thailand in their last pool game on May 28.
(Written By – Utkarsh Rathour)
