Oman, 29th August, 2023: The Indian Men’s Hockey Team began their campaign at the Men’s Asian Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifier with a solid 15-1 win over Bangladesh in Salalah, Oman, on Tuesday. For India, Maninder Singh (10′, 18′, 28′, 30′), Mohammed Raheel (2′, 15′, 24′), Sukhvinder (13′, 22′), Gurjot Singh (13′, 23′), Pawan Rajbhar (19′, 26′), Mandeep Mor (8′), and Dipsan Tirkey (9′) were on target. For Bangladesh, Sawon Sarowar (2′) scored the sole goal.
~ Mohammed Raheel, Mandeep Mor, Dipsan Tirkey, Maninder Singh, Gurjot Singh, Sukhvinder, and Pawan Rajbhar scored for India in the match ~
India started the match on the front foot, making a dangerous move straight away and allowing Pawan Rajbhar to make a penetrating run. But Bangladesh made the save and caught India on the counter-attack and Sawon Sarowar (2′) scored the first goal in the match for Bangladesh. Mohammed Raheel (2′) brought India back to level terms straightaway with a powerful shot of his own. After the initial flurry of attacks, both India and Bangladesh started playing cautiously to avoid early goals.
But the hold was broken by Indian skipper Mandeep Mor (8′), who struck a stunning goal in the 8th minute to put India in the lead. With goals from Dipsan Tirkey (9′) and Maninder Singh (10′), India extended their lead to 4-1 in the next couple of minutes. A stunning save from goalkeeper Suraj Karkera led to an Indian counter-attack and Gurjot Singh (13′) made the most of it, scoring another goal. Goals from Sukhvinder (13′) and Mohammed Raheel (15′) closed out the first half with India leading by 7-1.
India began the second half with another attack from the right flank and Maninder Singh (18′) struck the back of the nets to continue the goalfest for India. Less than a minute later, Pawan Rajbhar (19’) put his name on the scoresheet with the ninth goal for India. Maintaining possession, India pressed deeper in Bangladesh’s half, and Sukhvinder (22′) took India’s goal tally to double figures with a shot from near the halfway mark.
A minute later, Gurjot Singh (23′) struck the back of the nets once again as India further extended their lead. A reverse hit from Mohammed Raheel (24′) completed his hat-trick two minutes later as India continued to give no respite to the opposition’s defence. Pawan Rajbhar (26′) scored the back of the nets again to score his second goal of the match. With two minutes left on the clock, Maninder Singh (28′, 30′) completed his hat-trick, and scored another goal at the stroke of final whistle, to help India secure a dominant 15-1 win.
India will next face off against Oman at 1530 hrs IST and Pakistan at 2030 hrs IST on Wednesday, 30th August.
Schedule of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team:
On 30th August 2023, India vs Oman at 1530 hrs IST
On 30th August 2023, Pakistan vs India at 2030 hrs IST
On 31st August 2023, Malaysia vs India at 1430 hrs IST
On 31st August 2023, India vs Japan at 1930 hrs IST
HOCKEY INDIA TEAM PARTNERS
Odisha (India’s Best Kept Secret) – Major Team Partner
Sports Authority of India (SAI)
Shiv Naresh
About HOCKEY INDIA
HOCKEY INDIA (HI) is the governing body with exclusive mandate to direct and conduct all activities for both men and women’s hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Hockey India was established on 20th May, 2009 and is affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF).
Committed to the development of Hockey in the country, Hockey India with the assistance of Sports Authority of India and Department of Sports, Government of India, trains players at sub-junior, junior and senior level. The governing body engages in Coaching the coaches with International Standard certification programs, educates and equips technical officials and umpires to find a foothold in international arena, provides world-class infrastructure and International exposure for the players besides regular international competition. Hockey India has also pioneered in bringing top International hockey events to India such as the FIH Men’s World Cup in 2010 and 2018, FIH Champions Trophy in 2014, FIH Junior Men’s World Cup in 2016 and 2021, FIH Hockey World League Final in 2017. With its vision to popularize the game and constantly promote it, Hockey India brought the Indian Men’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world. Hockey India is also dedicated to getting the Indian Women’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world.
About ODISHA
Odisha – the Eastern State of India – is known for its love for Hockey and over the years it has evolved to be the Global Hub of Hockey. The State successfully hosted the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, followed by the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha, FIH Olympic Qualifiers Odisha, and FIH Hockey Pro League 2020-21. Odisha has previously hosted the Champions Trophy 2014 and the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017. Odisha also hosted the FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup in 2021.
Kalinga Lancers, the team owned by the State, were the winners in the Hockey India League 2017. Taking a step further towards realising the dream of restoring the glory of Indian Hockey at the global level, the State is sponsoring the Indian Hockey Teams till 2033.
Odisha also hosted the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023.
