The Indian Men's Hockey team continued their prime form in the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019 as they convincingly beat Poland 10-0 in their last Round-Robin League match on Friday at Ipoh in Malaysia. The Men in Blue will now take on Korea in the Final on Saturday.
The Manpreet Singh led squad pushed Poland on the back foot right from the word go. Vivek Sagar Prasad (1') and Sumit Kumar (junior) (7') gave the apt start to the Indians. The initial attack was followed up with a series of goals that left the opposition completely petrified. Varun Kumar (18', 25'), Surender Kumar (19'), Simranjeet Singh (29'), Nilakanta Sharma (36'), Mandeep Singh (50', 51') and Amit Rohidas (55') contributed to the cause.
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Mandeep Singh, with his contribution to India's scoreline, became the highest goal-scorer in the tournament with a total of seven goals while Varun Kumar took his personal tally to five goals in the tournament so far.
The team completely took advantage of the start and executed their game plans perfectly. India strengthened its attack in the second half as they made good runs and created spaces in the striking circle. Sumit Kumar (junior), who is in an imperious form, earned a penalty corner for India which was perfectly converted by drag-flicker Varun Kumar. The following minute saw Surender Kumar score off a penalty corner created by Amit Rohidas.
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Though India lost forward Shilanand Lakra to a green card in the 24th minute, the team created a penalty corner and in a re-take, Varun Kumar converted the opportunity into his stride as he scored off a direct, powerful flick to take India's lead to a strong 5-0.
Simranjeet Singh added to the team's lead when he teamed with Mandeep Singh after receiving a beautiful assist from Nilakanta Sharma to put the ball past Polish goalkeeper Mateusz Popiolkowski.
With a formidable 6-0 lead at half-time, India sat in the driver's seat. But the complexion of the game did not affect their style of play as they continued to dominate with their midfielders who created more chances by pacing between the field and shifting the ball swiftly as the opposition were left clueless. In the 36th minute, a good pass by Sumit to Nilakanta Sharma helped him score. Though India managed only one goal in the third quarter, the team finished on a high note in the fourth quarter as they put three more goals into the net.
Polish Popiolkowski was the only positive for Poland as he made some brilliant saves off the shots taken by Gursahibjit Singh, Amit Rohidas and Simranjeet Singh. India's eighth and ninth goal came off skillful displays by Mandeep Singh. His first goal was scored after he intercepted Michal Raciniewski to take a direct shot on goal while his second goal was well-assisted by Gurinder Singh.
India's tenth goal was scored after Surender Kumar earned a penalty corner with Amit making a good conversion. With his diligent performance, Mandeep Singh won the man-of-the-match once again.
India, riding high on confidence will now take on Korea in the Final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019 on Saturday.
