Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship 2026: India Enjoy Triumphant Friday After Defeating Pakistan And Hosts Oman

Indian sub-junior boys defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 7-3 and hosts Oman 10-1 to enjoy a triumphant Friday at the FIH Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship.

The Indian sub-junior girls, meanwhile, put up a spirited fight before going down 3-6 to China in their Elite Pool match.

The Indian boys took early control against Pakistan, leading 3-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Romit Pal (8'), Karan Gautam (10') and captain Ketan Kushwaha (10'). They maintained the momentum in the second half, with Prahalad Rajbhar (12') extending the lead to 4-0.

Pakistan attempted a comeback through Muhammad Usman (12', 15') and captain Adeel (17'), but strikes from Shahrukh Ali (16'), Rahul Yadav (18') and Kushwaha (20') sealed a comfortable victory for India.

Earlier in the day, India thrashed Oman 10-1. The Indians stormed to a 6-0 lead at half-time, powered by two goals each from Shahrukh Ali (3', 10') and Ketan Kushwaha (6', 8'), along with strikes from Karan Gautam (2') and Prahalad Rajbhar (3').

India added four more goals in the second half, with Kushwaha (11', 19') completing a four-goal haul, while Gautam (15') and Rajbhar (16') scored their second goals of the match.

In the girls' match, India were locked 3-3 with China at half-time. Sandeepa Kumari (1') gave India an early lead, while Kiran Ekka (3', 6') scored a brace to match China's first-half goals from Guo Jiaxin (2'), Ge Chen (3') and Lu Tongtong (10').

China pulled away in the second half as Guo Jiaxin (13', 20') completed her hat-trick and Lu Tongtong (20') added her second goal of the match to secure victory.

The tournament also serves as the Asian qualifier for the inaugural FIH Youth Hockey5s World Cup.