Indian hockey team reached semi-finals by defeating Bangladesh 12-0

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Hangzhou. The Indian men’s hockey team qualified for the semi-finals of the 19th Asian Games with a 12-0 win over Bangladesh on Monday.

With five wins in all their pool stage matches, India finished the pool stage as table toppers.

For India, Harmanpreet Singh (2′, 4′, 32′) and Mandeep Singh (18′, 24′, 46) scored hat-tricks. Abhishek (41′, 57) scored two goals. Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (23′), Amit Rohidas (28′), Neelkant Sharma (47′) and Gurjant Singh (56′) also scored one goal each to help India win.

Team India is in strong form in the Asian Games. Against Bangladesh, in-form Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh (2′) was right on target from the first penalty corner as India took an early 1-0 lead. Moments later, Harmanpreet (4′) scored another goal to make the score 2-0.

Despite the early lead, the Indian team continued to apply pressure and did not allow Bangladesh to make any inroads into their circle. India ended the first quarter with a 2-0 lead.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Bangladesh made a few passes inside India’s half, but India failed to attack. A few minutes later, Mandeep Singh (18′) combined with Abhishek inside the circle to make India’s score 3-0. With the help of consecutive goals, India took a 6-0 lead at halftime.

The second half started with India trying to maintain the lead and increase their lead. As Abhishek managed to earn an early penalty corner for India in the third quarter, Harmanpreet Singh (32′) found the net again to complete his hat-trick.

India went into the final quarter with an 8-0 lead. At the beginning of the final quarter, Mandeep Singh (46′) put the ball into the net after receiving an aerial pass from Abhishek. Moments later, Neelkanth Sharma (47′) fired a powerful shot past the Bangladesh goalkeeper, taking India’s goal tally into double digits.

Then, Gurjant Singh (56′) scored, taking India’s score to 11–0. A minute later, Abhishek (57′) picked up a pass from Gurjant Singh and put it into the net as India won the match 12–0. On Wednesday, India will go for victory in the semi-finals.

(IANS)

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