India crushes Pakistan 7-3, explosive entry in the final of Youth Hockey 5s Asian Championship

Muscat, Oman). The Indian sub-junior men’s hockey team continued its stellar performance at the FIH Youth Hockey 5s Asian Championship 2026 on Friday, defeating arch-rivals Pakistan 7-3 to enter the final. Earlier, India gave a crushing 10-1 defeat to host Oman. At the same time, the Indian sub-junior women’s team made a strong comeback after the defeat to China and defeated Uzbekistan 10-0 and will now face Kazakhstan in the semi-finals.

In the most awaited match of the men’s category, India played aggressively from the beginning. Thanks to goals from Romit Pal (8th minute), Karan Gautam (10th minute) and captain Ketan Kushwaha (10th minute), India took a 3-0 lead at half-time. In the second half, Prahlad Rajbhar (12th minute) increased the lead to 4-0. Mohammad Usman (12th and 15th minute) and captain Adeel (17th minute) scored for Pakistan, but goals from Shahrukh Ali (16th minute), Rahul Yadav (18th minute) and Ketan Kushwaha (20th minute) ensured India’s memorable 7-3 victory.

Earlier, in the first match of the day, the Indian men’s team defeated host Oman 10-1. India had taken a lead of 6-0 in the first half itself. Shahrukh Ali and Ketan Kushwaha scored two goals each, while Karan Gautam and Prahlad Rajbhar also scored one goal each. In the second half, Kushwaha completed his four goals, while Gautam and Rajbhar also scored the second goal. Khazraj Subait Al-Mashrafi scored the only goal for Oman.

In the women’s category, the Indian team had to face defeat by 3-6 against China in the first match. Till the first half, the match was tied at 3-3, in which Sandeepa Kumari and Kiran Ekka scored goals for India, but in the second half, China took the lead and won the match.

However, in the second match, the Indian women’s team made a brilliant comeback and defeated Uzbekistan 10-0. Nausheen Naz scored a hat-trick, while Sandeepa Kumari scored two goals. Shruti Kumari, Kiran Ekka, Sweety Kujur, Neelam Topno and Diya also contributed to India’s one-sided victory by scoring one goal each.

After the pool stage ends, the Indian men’s team will once again face Pakistan in the final on Saturday, July 25. At the same time, the Indian women’s team will face Kazakhstan in Semi-Final-2. The competition is also the Asian qualifier for the inaugural FIH Youth Hockey 5s World Cup.