Jr Hockey World Cup: India defeats Poland 8-2 to clash with Belgium in the quarters

Bhubaneswar : India, the defending champion, started well and took a comfortable lead.Then, India survived some anxious moments in fourth quarter, before scoring two more goals to win a comfortable 8-2 win.

This qualifies them for Saturdays quarter-finals of the FIH Odisha Hockey Mens Junior World CupThey will now face top contenders Belgium who won Pool A on goal differential after a tie of seven points with Malaysia.This will be a replay from the final of the 2016 edition, which India won to win their second Junior World Cup title.

France defeated Canada 11-1 earlier today and topped Pool B with an All-Win Record.They will now face Malaysia in the quarter-final.

India and Poland were tied at three points after two matches, both having lost to France.Although India held a slight advantage over Poland due to their superior goal difference Graham Reids boys put in a strong performance in the first period that did not allow Poland much chance.

They were a little anxious in the fourth quarter, but they closed the match strong with two more goals to secure a huge win.Vice-captain Sanjay and forward Araijeet Sing Hundal and forward Sudeep Chirmako each scored a brace of goals, while forward Uttam Sinh and defender Sharda Naand Tiwari each contributed a goal to Indias comfortable win in their preliminary league.Robert Pawlak and Wojciech Rutkowski each scored a goal to reduce the gap for Poland, who now face Chile in the classification matches for ninth-12th places.

Indias defeat to France on the opening night could come back to haunt them as they face Belgium in a more difficult match.France, however, has a much easier path to the semi-finals where they will take on Malaysia in the final-eight stage.

India needed a draw to secure their place in the quarter finals.India started well, with forward Hundal and Sanjay being stopped by Maciej Wieczorek, Polands goalkeeper.

They were not denied for long though as Sanjay converted a penalty corners in the fourth minute.Nine minutes later, Hundal converted another penalty corner.

Sundeep Chirmako made it three when he capitalized on Vivek Sagar Prasads good run to score a goal from the six-yard line in the 24th minute.India led 3-0 at halftime.

They scored three more goals in the third quarter, with Sudeep, Tiwari and Uttam scoring to make it 6-0 at halftime.The Indians were a little too excited about the lead in the fourth quarter and gave up a little bit in the fourth quarter.

Poland scored two goals in quick succession in the 50th, 54th, and 62nd minutes to make it 6-2.Just as it seemed that the Poles would use the momentum to do more damage to the Indian reputation for being a bad name, Sanjay Hundal and Hundal scored field goals to end the proceedings.Although it was a huge win for India, the Indians performance was not as good as they would like.

The Indians were not disciplined on the pitch, receiving five cards, two green and three red which broke their rhythm.They also received two cards in quick succession for Manjeet (53rd), and skipper Vivek Sgar Prasad (46) allowing Poland to score both of their goals.

They were very sharp in attack, with 33 circle penetrations.However, India also gave Poland a lot of opportunities.The defense will need to be more aggressive in the quarter-finals against Belgium.

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