India maul Chinese Taipei 18-0 in Junior Asia Cup hockey

SALALAH: Defending champions India started their Men's Junior Asia Cup hockey campaign on a rousing note with a thumping 18-0 win over minnows Chinese Taipei at the Sultan Qaboos Youth Complex, here on Wednesday.

The Indians toyed with the Chinese Taipei defence, scoring goals at will.

Araijeet Singh Hundal (19th, 19th, 30th, 59th minutes) and Amandeep (38th, 39th, 41st) scored a hat-trick each, while Boby Singh Dhami (10th, 46th) and Aditya Arjun Lalage (37th, 37th) and skipper Uttam Singh (10th, 59th) found the back of the net twice. Sharda Nand Tiwari (11th), Angad Bir Singh (37th), Amir Ali (51st), Boby Poovanna Chandura (54th) and Yogember Rawat (60th) were the other goal-getters for India in the lop-sided Pool A contest. India will next play Japan on Thursday before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday and Thailand on Sunday. India will aim to qualify for this year's Junior World Cup by winning the tournament here.

The tournament, while being a platform for young players in the continent to showcase their skills, is also important as the top-three finishers will qualify for the Junior World Cup, scheduled to be held in Malaysia in December this year.