Moqi: India’s Junior Men’s Hockey Team made a commanding start to their title defence at the AHF Junior Asia Cup 2026, producing a ruthless 14-0 victory over Indonesia in their opening Pool A encounter on Saturday. Captain Anmol Ekka, Prabhdeep Singh, and Ajeet Yadav spearheaded the emphatic performance, scoring 12 goals between them as the five-time champions immediately stamped their authority on the tournament.
Prabhdeep was the most prolific scorer of the day, finding the net five times to earn the ‘Player of the Match’ award, while skipper Anmol contributed four goals and Yadav scored thrice for his hat-trick. Harpal and Ashu Maurya accounted for the other two goals as India maintained relentless pressure throughout the contest.
India’s attacking intent was evident from the opening whistle as they repeatedly entered the Indonesian circle and created scoring opportunities. Prabhdeep opened the scoring in the fifth minute, giving India an early advantage before Harpal doubled the lead in the eighth minute. Indonesia struggled to cope with the pace and movement of the Indian attack as the first quarter ended with India firmly in control at 2-0.
The Indian forward line continued to find openings in the second quarter. Anmol got his first goal of the match in the 16th minute when the Indonesian defence was penalised with a penalty stroke. Yadav added another four minutes later, making it 4-0. Prabhdeep then took centre stage, scoring in the 26th and 30th minutes to complete his hat-trick and take India into half-time with a commanding 6-0 lead.
There was little respite for Indonesia after the break, with India continuing to dominate possession and territory. Anmol was particularly effective from set-pieces, converting penalty corners in the 35th and 42nd minutes to add two more goals to his tally. Prabhdeep then struck again shortly before the end of the third quarter, as the scoreline read 9-0.
The final quarter proved to be the most productive period of the match as India found the net five more times. Anmol completed his four-goal haul in the 51st minute, before Prabhdeep scored again a minute later to bring up his fifth goal of the match.
Yadav then completed his hat-trick in emphatic fashion, scoring twice in the 53rd minute as India surged to a 13-0 advantage. Maurya rounded off the scoring in the 59th minute, scoring off a penalty corner to complete the 14-0 rout.
India’s dominance was reflected in their goal distribution, with nine field goals complemented by four penalty-corner conversions and a penalty stroke. Anmol converted three penalty corners and the penalty stroke, while Maurya scored from the fourth set-piece.
The defeat was Indonesia’s second in as many matches, following their 0-9 loss to South Korea on Friday. They remain fifth in Pool A, behind fourth-placed Chinese Taipei, who went down 0-7 to Japan.
With three points from their opening match, India are level with Japan and South Korea but occupy top spot in Pool A on goal difference, giving the defending champions an ideal start to their campaign.
(IANS)
