Salalah [Oman], September 1 (ANI): The Indian males’s hockey workforce booked a spot within the semifinals of the Men’s Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier on Thursday after recording a thumping win over Japan and Malaysia.
India beat Malaysia 7-5 with Gurjot Singh (7′, 11′, 17′, 29′ 30′) scoring 5 targets, and Maninder Singh (12′), and Mohammed Raheel (21′) getting a purpose every towards the opponents. Relentless India pushed previous Japan with a surprising 35-1 win of their final Elite Group stage sport with Maninder Singh (1′, 3′ 5, 6′, 9′, 15′, 20′, 24′, 25′, 29′), Mohammed Raheel (3′, 4′, 11′, 12′, 17′, 26, 26′), Pawan Rajbhar (2′, 6′, 10′, 13′, 23′), Gurjot Singh (12′, 20′, 21′, 27′, 30′), Sukhvinder (4′, 8′, 16′, 22′), Captain Mandeep Mor (18′, 23′, 29′), and Jugraj Singh (15′) scoring targets within the match.
India will play their subsequent match towards the winner of Crossover 2.2, which shall be performed between Malaysia and the winner of Crossover 1.1. It should be famous that Japan and Iran will face off later as we speak in Crossover 1.1 to earn an opportunity to face Malaysia in Crossover 2.2.
A victory within the semifinal is not going to solely safe a spot within the closing for India however may also assure a spot within the 2024 FIH Hockey 5s World Cup. The prime three groups within the match will earn qualification for the 2024 FIH Hockey 5s World Cup.
Speaking on the upcoming match, Mandeep Mor, who’s main the Indian troops mentioned that his aspect shall be prepared for the competitors, regardless of their opponents. “When we entered the tournament, our aim was to get a podium finish to secure a direct qualification for the 2024 FIH Hockey 5s World Cup. We are close to achieving the target and irrespective of which team we face in the Semi-Finals, we will be ready and look to earn a win,” he mentioned.
India completed within the second place within the Elite pool desk with 12 factors in 5 video games. India started their marketing campaign on the Men’s Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier with a stable 15-1 win over Bangladesh in Salalah, Oman, on Tuesday. On Day 2 of the match, India scripted a surprising 12-2 win over Oman however went down 4-5 towards Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Malaysia completed third within the Elite pool stage successful 10-4 towards Oman of their first sport adopted by an 18-2 win over Japan, a 10-5 win over Bangladesh, a 5-7 loss to India, and a 5-5 draw towards Pakistan. On the opposite hand, Japan had a troublesome match, shedding 1-26 to Pakistan, shedding 2-18 to Malaysia, shedding 4-14 to Oman, shedding 3-10 to Bangladesh, and happening 1-35 to India to complete on the backside of the Elite pool desk.
Iran completed on prime of the Challenger Pool desk, successful their first sport 7-2 towards Hong Kong, after which going previous Indonesia with a 5-3 win. Iran defeated Kazakhstan 12-8 and gained 12-2 towards Afghanistan.
“We do not take any opponents lightly. We have already faced Malaysia and Japan in the tournament and have gained an understanding of their strengths and the areas we need to target. We will hope to achieve similar results against them if we meet them in the Semi-Final. Meanwhile, Iran have been in good form in the tournament as well and we have studied their matches and will prepare our strategies accordingly,” Mandeep Mor mentioned.
A win within the Semi-Final will give India an opportunity to compete for the title within the Final which is able to happen on Saturday. A defeat, nevertheless, will imply India must compete within the third/4th place match on Saturday.
“Our team is aiming for the trophy. We have been in good form this tournament and we have started finding our rhythm as a unit. We feel we have a good chance of going all the way, book a spot in the final and challenge for the trophy,” Mandeep Mor signed off.
India will play towards Malaysia, Japan or Iran within the second Semi-Final at 13:30 hrs IST on Saturday, September 2, 2023.
The third/4th place end match of the match shall be performed at 18:30 hrs IST on Saturday, September 2, 2023, and the ultimate shall be performed at 19:30 hrs IST on Saturday, September 2, 2023. (ANI)