India’s skipper Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh each scored a hat-trick as India easily defeated Singapore 16-1, securing their second consecutive win in the men’s hockey competition at the Asian Games. India had previously won by a massive margin of 16-0 against Uzbekistan in their first match of the tournament. In their game against Singapore, the Indian team demonstrated their dominance by consistently finding the back of the net. Harmanpreet scored in the 24th, 39th, 40th, and 42nd minutes, while Mandeep found the target in the 12th, 30th, and 51st minutes. Additionally, Abhishek (51st, 52nd), Varun Kumar (55th, 55th), Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (16th), Gurjant Singh (22nd), Vivek Sagar Prasad (23rd), Manpreet Singh (37th), and Shamsher Singh (38th) contributed with goals for India.
India’s next match will be against defending champions Japan on Thursday.
Unexpectedly, the Indian team had a slow start but they dominated ball possession throughout the game.
India completely controlled the game in Singapore’s half, dictating the proceedings from the beginning.
In the sixth minute, India had their first chance when Sukhjeet Singh took a shot, but Singapore goalkeeper Sandran Gugan made a save.
India earned their first penalty corner in the next minute, but Singapore’s defense held strong against Harmanpreet Singh’s flick.
Two minutes later, Mandeep Singh earned another penalty corner for India, but once again Gugan made a fantastic save with his right leg to deny Harmanpreet.
India continued to attack relentlessly and finally broke the deadlock in the 12th minute when Mandeep scored a goal from a perfect pass by Gurjant Singh.
In the last two minutes of the first quarter, India secured three additional penalty corners, but they failed to convert any of them into goals.
In total, India earned five penalty corners in the first quarter but couldn’t convert a single one into a goal.
After a somewhat lackluster first quarter, India stepped up their game in the next 15 minutes and scored five goals.
At the beginning of the second quarter, India doubled their lead through Lalit, who found the top right corner of the net after receiving a pass from Sukhjeet, who cleverly evaded a couple of defenders before setting up his teammate.
Despite enjoying most of the possession, India struggled to create openings in the final third.
India extended their lead in the 21st minute with a goal from Gurjant. Mandeep provided the assist this time, delivering a cross from the left to find Gurjant, who perfectly deflected the ball into the net.
Only a minute later, India made it 4-0 when Vivek Sagar Prasad deflected a shot from Sumit from inside the circle.
Harmanpreet finally converted a penalty corner for India in the following minute, bringing the scoreline to 5-0.
Another penalty corner opportunity quickly followed, but Sanjay failed to execute the play.
Just before halftime, India earned another penalty corner, and this time Amit Rohidas’ flick was deflected into the goal by a well-positioned Mandeep.
India had another chance from a penalty corner, but once again Harmanpreet couldn’t convert as goalkeeper Gugan came to Singapore’s rescue. The score was 6-0 at halftime.
A minute into the second half, India earned their 11th penalty corner, but Harmanpreet’s flick missed the goal.
In the 37th minute, India extended their lead through Manpreet, who deflected Harmanpreet’s flick from a penalty corner into the goal.
The goals kept pouring in for India as Harmanpreet scored twice from penalty corners within three minutes, completing a hat-trick for himself. The other goal was scored by Shamsher.
India continued their goal-fest, securing two more quick penalty corners, and Harmanpreet added to his tally with yet another powerful flick.
Out of nowhere, Zaki Zulkarnain (53rd) scored a consolation goal for Singapore.
But India didn’t let up, and Varun converted two consecutive penalty corners in the last five minutes of the match, completing the rout.
However, penalty corners remained a concern for India as they managed to convert only eight out of the 22 they earned.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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