Muscat (Oman), July 21 (IANS) The Indian sub-junior men’s and women’s teams made winning starts in their respective campaigns at the FIH Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship 2026 in Muscat, Oman, on Monday.
The Indian teams are placed in the Elite Pools of the men’s and women’s competition. The Indian women’s team was the first to start its campaign on the tournament’s opening day against Kazakhstan and won 8-3. The men’s team faced Bangladesh in their opening match later and registered a 7-3 victory.
The women’s team, led by Diya’s hat-trick (14′, 15′, 20′), produced a dominant attacking display. Sandeepa Kumari (3′, 12′), Nousheen Naz (6′, 9′) and Nilam Topno (7′) were the others to get on the scoresheet.
India built a commanding lead in the opening half before continuing the momentum upon restart, with Diya completing a clinical second-half hat-trick to put the result beyond doubt.
Dilnaz Nigmetzhanova (17′, 18′) and Yasmin Seiitzhan (20′) scored for Kazakhstan.
The Indian men’s team also impressed in its tournament opener, with goals from Rahul Yadav (2′), Karan Gautam (4′), captain Ketan Kushwaha (8′, 14′), Romit Pal (10′, 15′) and Prahalad Rajbhar (16′) securing a comprehensive 7-3 win over Bangladesh.
India maintained control for most of the contest, responding strongly whenever Bangladesh threatened to close the gap. Nure (2′), Sabbir Rahman (5′) and Md. Islam (14′) were the goal scorers for Bangladesh.
The tournament is also the Asian qualifier for the inaugural FIH Youth Hockey5s World Cup.
Fresh from impressive performances at the U18 Asia Cup earlier this year, the Indian sub-junior men’s and women’s hockey teams are hoping to excel in the inaugural FIH Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship 2026.
The Indian sub-junior men’s team, coached by Sardar Singh, comprises players from the team that clinched the U18 Men’s Asia Cup 2026 title, defeating hosts Japan 4-1 in the final. It has been placed in the Elite Pool alongside hosts Oman, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The Indian sub-junior women’s team, coached by Rani, features players who secured the bronze medal at the U18 Women’s Asia Cup 2026. The team has been drawn in the Elite Pool with China, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The Elite Pool follows a double round-robin format, with each team playing the other teams twice. The top two teams at the end of the league stage will advance directly to the gold medal match, while the third-placed team will qualify for the bronze medal match. The fourth-placed team will face the top-ranked Challenger Pool team in a qualification match, with the winner progressing to the bronze medal match.
–IANS
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