International

India won the Under-18 Asia Cup Hockey for the third time, host Japan defeated in the final, Ashish’s second consecutive hat-trick.

By Samira Vishwas

Kakamigahara (Japan), June 6. Front-row player Ashish Tani Purti’s second consecutive hat-trick proved effective for India, who defeated hosts Japan 4-1 and earned the title of overall winner for the third time in the men’s Under-18 Asia Cup hockey tournament here on Saturday.

Ashish, who scored four goals including a hat-trick during the 5-3 victory in the semi-final against Pakistan 24 hours ago, completed the hat-trick by converting penalty corners in the second, 28th and 34th minutes. Captain Ketan Kushwaha scored the third goal for India in the 30th minute just before the interval. The only goal for Japan was scored by Numada Gaku on the third short corner in the 52nd minute.

India’s 100% record maintained in the title match

Interestingly, India got the right to play the final for the third time and won the title for the third time, maintaining its 100 per cent record in the finals. Before this, he had earned the distinction of champion in 2001 and 2016.

Indian women’s team won bronze medal by defeating Korea 3-0

Meanwhile, India’s Under-18 women’s team won the bronze medal by defeating South Korea 3-0. Sandeepa Kumari (2nd minute), captain Sweety Kujur (16th minute) and Nausheen Naz (33rd minute) scored goals for the Indian team, which had a 2-0 lead at half-time. China, which had defeated India in the semi-finals, won the gold medal by defeating host Japan 2-1. Thus, Japan had to be satisfied with silver medals in both the categories.

Hockey India announced cash prize

Meanwhile, Hockey India announced a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh to each player of the gold medal winning team and Rs 1.5 lakh to the associate members. Along with this, it was also announced to give Rs 1 lakh to each player and Rs 50,000 to the supporting members of the women’s under-18 team for winning the bronze medal.

Talking about the title match, India dominated from the beginning and won a penalty corner within 90 seconds, which Ashish converted into a goal. India was leading 1-0 at the end of the first quarter. Whereas Japan made some aggressive efforts, but its players could not penetrate the Indian defense line.

India maintained the lead in the second quarter also. Japan tried to equalize, but the Indian defense foiled every attempt. After this, in the 28th minute, Ashish scored another brilliant goal and made the score 2-0. Immediately after this, Prahlad Rajbhar snatched the ball and passed it to captain Kushwaha, who made a precise finish and made the score 3-0 at halftime.

India continued its aggressive play in the third quarter. Ashish completed his hat-trick by converting the penalty corner after a brilliant move by Varinder Singh in the 34th minute and gave India a strong lead of 4-0. Japan tried to make a comeback in the last quarter and Numada Gaku could only reduce the margin of defeat for the team by converting a penalty corner in the 52nd minute.

‘Player of the match’ Ashish also got the title of top scorer

After this, Japan got some more chances, but the Indian defense line did not allow them to succeed. Purthi was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ for his brilliant performance. He also achieved the title of top scorer by scoring 13 goals in the entire tournament.

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