Men’s Asian Hockey 5S World Cup Qualifier: Indian team set for semi-finals | Loktej Sports News

Oman, 1 September (Hindustan). The Indian men’s hockey team on Thursday made it to the semi-finals of the Men’s Asian Hockey 5S World Cup Qualifier after registering impressive victories over Japan and Malaysia. Five goals from Gurjot Singh (7′, 11′, 17′, 29′, 30′) and one each from Maninder Singh (12′) and Mohammad Raheel (21′) helped India beat Malaysia 7-5. was defeated

At the same time, the Indian team in its last elite group stage match Maninder Singh (1′, 3′ 5, 6′, 9′, 15′, 20′, 24′, 25′, 29′) 10, Mohammad Raheel (3′ ‘, 4′, 11′, 12′, 17′, 26, 26′), Pawan Rajbhar (2′, 6′, 10′, 13′, 23′) and Gurjot Singh (12′, 20′, 21′, 27′, 30′) five each, Sukhwinder (4′, 8′, 16′, 22′) four, Captain Mandeep Mor (18′, 23′, 29′) three, and Jugraj Singh (15’) 1 goal, beat Japan 35-1 and registered a resounding victory.

India will play their next match against the winner of Crossover 2.2, which will be played between Malaysia and the winner of Crossover 1.1. Japan and Iran will go head to head in Crossover 1.1 today. A win in the semi-finals will not only assure India a place in the final but also a place in the 2024 FIH Hockey 5S World Cup. The top three teams in the tournament will earn qualification for the 2024 FIH Hockey 5s World Cup.

On the upcoming match, Indian captain Mandeep Mor said, “When we entered the tournament, our target was to achieve a podium finish to gain direct qualification for the 2024 FIH Hockey 5S World Cup. We are close to achieving the target and will qualify for the semi-finals.” No matter which team we face, we will be ready and try to win.

India finished second in the Elite Pool table with 12 points from 5 matches. India began their campaign in the Men’s Asian Hockey 5S World Cup Qualifier with a convincing 15-1 win over Bangladesh in Salalah, Oman on Tuesday. On the second day of the tournament, India recorded an impressive 12–2 win over Oman, but lost 4–5 against Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Malaysia secured third place in the Elite Pool stage with a 10–4 win against Oman in their first match, followed by an 18–2 win over Japan, a 10–5 win over Bangladesh, a 5–0 win over India, Lost 7 and drew 5-5 against Pakistan. Japan, on the other hand, had a tough tournament, losing to Pakistan 1–26, Malaysia 2–18, Oman 4–14, Bangladesh 3–10, and India lost by 1-35.

Iran topped the Challenger pool table, winning their first game against Hong Kong 7–2, and then overcame Indonesia with a 5–3 win. Iran beat Kazakhstan 12–8 and won 12–2 against Afghanistan.

“We don’t take any opponent lightly. We have already faced Malaysia and Japan in the tournament and gained an understanding of their strengths and the areas we need to focus on,” Mandeep said. If we face them in the semi-finals, we will hope to get similar results against them as well. Meanwhile, Iran are also in good form in the tournament and we have studied their matches and will plan our strategy accordingly. “

A win in the semi-finals will give India a chance to compete for the title in the final on Saturday. However, a loss would mean that India would have to compete in the third/fourth place match on Saturday.

“Our team is aiming for the trophy. We are in good form in this tournament and we have started to find our rhythm as a unit. India will play either Malaysia, Japan or Iran in the second semi-final on Saturday, September 2.