Hockey Men’s Junior Asia Cup: Boby Singh Dhami nets hat-trick as India beat Korea 9-1 to reach final

Riding on a hat-trick by Boby Singh Dhami, the Indian junior men’s hockey team stormed into the final of the Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 as they defeated Korea 9-1 in the first semifinal in Salalah, Oman on Wednesday.

For India, the scorers were Sunit Lakra (13’), Araijeet Singh Hundal (19’), Boby Singh Dhami (31’, 39’, 55’), Angad Bir Singh (34’), Captain Uttam Singh (38’), Vishnukant Singh (51’), Sharda Nand Tiwari (57’). Meanwhile for Korea it was Keonyeol Hwang (46’) who scored the only goal late in the piece.

In the early exchanges, it was the Koreans who looked more dangerous; however, they came up against a well-organised Indian defensive unit, that absorbed the pressure well. Just after the half-way mark in the first quarter, the India started to go through the gears, pushing Korea back into their half, with a couple of attacks originating from the right. With a couple of minutes left in the first quarter, Sunit Lakra (13’) smashed it into the net, giving India a 1-0 lead against Korea at the break.

Both sides began the second phase well, matching each other toe to toe in the early exchanges, before the Indians doubled the lead. Araijeet Singh Hundal (19’) found himself...

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