The Indian men’s team won the championship title in the AHF Asian Youth Hockey 5s Championship. The women’s team won the silver medal.
The Asian Youth Hockey Fives Championship was held in Muscat, the capital of Oman. This is the first time the Hockey Fives competition has been held.
The Indian sub-junior men’s team, trained under the supervision of Olympian Sardar Singh, won all 7 matches in the group stage and qualified for the final. The Indian team clinched the championship title by defeating Pakistan 3-1 in the final.
In this regard, coach Sardar Singh said: Hockey India continues to encourage young players. It was special to secure 3 victories against Pakistan in this tournament. With the gold medal, we have also qualified for the FIH Hockey 5s World Cup, he said.
Silver for the Indian women’s team: The Indian women’s junior team, shaped under the training of legendary Rani Rampal, defeated Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan convincingly in the group stage. It also drew with China. In another group match, it lost to China. However, in the final match, it lost to China by a score of 2-4 and won the silver medal. The Indian women’s team also qualified for the FIH Hockey5s World Cup.
Coach Rani Rampal said: The women’s team played with consistency and determination throughout. It is noteworthy that they qualified for the final in this tournament and also advanced to the World Cup. This was our team’s first final at the international level, she said.