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India rout Iran 22-0

Ruthless India knocked the stuffings out of a sorry Iranian side, winning 22-0, in a Group B tie of the 4th Junior Men's Asia Cup at the Bukit Jalil Stadium today.

Arjun Hallapa scored India's 12th goal through a penalty stroke [Photo by Sportalasia]

The Iranians, who had conceded 33 goals in three matches prior to this massacre, might have expected some mercy from the Indians who had virtually qualified for the semifinals.

India rested two of their best players, Lazarus Barla and Deepak Thakur but an 8-0 halftime score should have warned Iran that there would be no reprieve.

Once India got started, there was just no stopping them, especially young Prabjot Singh who bagged a double hattrick.

Len Ayappa, Bikramjit Singh and Ajit Singh Gagan all bagged hattricks while Inderjit Singh got himself a brace.

Other Indian scorers were Shamsuz Zoha, Arjun Halappa, Bimal Lakra, Kanwalpreet Singh and Paramjit Singh.

Iran defenders sigh in relief as the Indians missed a chance to score [Photo by Sportalasia]

The Iranians, who experienced playing on astroturf for the first time during this tournament, were simply no match for India's second stringers.

With the win, India can even afford to lose, which is highly unlikely, their last match against Uzbekistan safe in the knowledge that the other teams cannot accumulate as many points.

After four matches, India have a maximum 12 points while Bangladesh and Japan both have seven from the same number of games.

India's win makes them the first team in the tournament to book their place in the semifinals.

Korea, Pakistan and Malaysia are fighting for the two semifinals slota from Group A while Bangladesh and Japan will have to play a numbers game in goal difference to determine the other qualifier from Group B.

Courtsey: www.hockeyasia.com