Pakistan go down fighting against India in Junior Asia Cup final

KARACHI: India clinched the Junior Hockey Asia Cup 2023, defeating Pakistan by 2-1 in a nail-biting final in Oman on Thursday. For India, Angad Singh and Araijeet Singh scored the goals in the 13th and 20th minutes.

The first quarter saw India in sheer attacking mode – especially in the initial minutes. Pakistan made some moves but failed to cut through the resilient Indian goalie as they missed two penalty corners. India, who missed some chances, finally got in front in the 13th minute thanks to a brilliant strike from Angad. In the second quarter as well, India continued their fierce attacking game against a weak Pakistani defence. In the 20th minute, Araijeet made a brilliant strike on the third bounce to put India 2-0 in front. Pakistan made some circle penetrations but didn’t have enough fire to cut through the Indian defence.

In the third quarter, Pakistan challenged India’s defence and were finally rewarded in the 38th minute when Basharat Ali made a fantastic strike after receiving a brilliant pass.In the last 15 minutes, Pakistan tried hard to level the score, launching one attack after another but the Indian defence remained compact. Pakistan made circle penetrations regularly, but Indian defenders remained successful in retaining the lead.