Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament:India thrash Canada 7-3,enter final after Korea's win over Malaysia
Ipoh (Malaysia), Mar 27: Striker Mandeep Singh scored a brilliant hat-trick as India outplayed Canada 7-3 to book a summit clash berth against Korea in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here on Wednesday.
Korea beat hosts Malaysia 2-1 in another match of the day to set up a summit clash against India on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Mandeep fired in three quick field goals (20th, 27th and 29th minutes), all of them coming in the second quarter, after Varun Kumar had given India the lead in the 12th minute of the high-scoring match.
At the half time, India were 4-0 up in the match before Canada reduced the margin through a strike from Mark Pearson in the 35th minute.
Amit Rohidas (39th), Vivek Prasad (55th) and Nilakanta Sharma (58th) struck later to take the game beyond the reach of the Canadians who scored two late goals through Fin Boothroyd (50th) and James Wallace (57th).
India and Korea, the two unbeaten sides in the tournament, now have 10 points each from four matches, with identical three wins and a draw. They both booked a berth in the final with a game in hand to be played on Friday.
India play Poland (zero point) in their final league match on Friday while Korea take on Japan (3 points from 4 matches) on the same day.
Malaysia are third in the league table with six points with one match left to play.
India and Korea had played out a 1-1 draw in the league stage on March 24.
India showed progress match-by-match in the tournament with improved structure and discipline as they took on an unpredictable Canadian side. India had beaten Canada 5-1 in the group stage at the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar.
India made an attacking start that put the opponents on the back-foot early in the match. A quick circle entry by Sumit Kumar Jr resulted to India winning a penalty corner in the 12th minute which was converted by Varun Kumar, scoring his third goal of the tournament.
India built on the momentum in the second quarter and made several circle entries. Sumit Kumar Jr once again created an opportunity when he sent a fine pass to Mandeep who simply had to deflect the ball into the goal, taking India's lead to 2-0.
In the following minute, Surender Kumar created a penalty corner for India but an alert Canadian goalkeeper made a good save off Amit Rohidas' flick.
India earned two more penalty corners in the following minutes but failed to convert them.
Canada earned their first penalty corner in the 26th minute, but drag-flicker Gordon Johnston sent the ball wide.
Continuing to use full-press to their advantage, India held their sway. Midfielder Kothajit Singh dispossessed a Canadian player to make a brilliant assist to Mandeep from the 25m mark. Mandeep made no mistake in sending it past Canada goalkeeper Antoni Kindler.
Mandeep then combined with Sumit before scoring his third goal of the day and complete his hat-trick in the 29th minute as India were 4-0 at half-time.
India continued to control the game with good ball possession and gave few opportunities for Canada to make a comeback.
However, an infringement by an Indian defender gave away Canada's second penalty corner in the 35th minute. Mark Pearson ensured the opportunity was not lost as he put the ball past India goalkeeper Krishan Pathak with a powerful flick.
The Canadian goal did not deter the Indians as they powered through with speed and finesse in their attack. Amit Rohidas' goal in the 39th minute helped India take a 5-1 lead going into the final quarter which saw a goal-fest with both teams scoring two goals each.
Though Canada narrowed down the lead to 2-5 in the 50th minute, an excellent long-aerial ball by Varun Kumar to Mandeep in the circle helped him assist Vivek Sagar Prasad score a fine field goal to take India's lead to 6-2.
Nilakanta Sharma finished the game for India on a fine note as he converted a good assist from Hardik Sigh in the 58th minute, which was a fitting reply to Canada's previous goal through a penalty corner in the 57th minute through James Wallace.
Mandeep was awarded the man-of-the-match for his fine hat-trick.
Indian team manager Chris Ciriello was happy at the performance of his players but felt that they could have done more in the later stages of the match.
"We go into every match wanting to win and against Canada, we had the early advantage with the 4-0 lead. The penalty corner conversion could have been better, but the field attempts to make up for it," he said.
"Our focus is on one match at a time," he added.
Canada coach Paul Bundy said he was not happy at the way the team started the match.
"We lacked our usual hard work and discipline. That is not the way Canada plays India in the opening stages. We were better in the third and fourth quarters. We had some good chances as well but overall we have to look at our performance and feel let down," he said.
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Not having memorial for Manmohan Singh deliberate insult to India's 1st Sikh PM: Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi, Dec 27: The Congress on Friday said that not finding a location for the cremation and memorial for Manmohan Singh is a deliberate insult to the country's first Sikh prime minister.
The Congress raked up the issue after the Union home ministry said in a statement that Singh's last rites will be held at New Delhi's Nigambodh Ghat at 11:45 AM on Saturday with full state honours.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said party president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to conduct Singh's last rites at a location where a memorial could be built to honour his legacy.
"The people of our country are simply unable to understand why the Government of India could not find a location for his cremation and memorial that is befitting of his global stature, record of outstanding achievements, and exemplary service to the nation for decades," Ramesh said in a post on X.
"This is nothing but a deliberate insult to the first Sikh Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh," the Congress leader said.
Kharge wrote the letter after speaking to Modi about setting up a memorial for Singh, who was a two-term prime minister revered by the people of the country.
"Apropos our telephonic conversation today morning, wherein I made a request to hold Dr Manmohan Singh's last rites, which will take place tomorrow i.e. 28th December 2024, at his final resting place that would be a sacrosanct venue for memorial of the great son of India.
"This is in keeping with such tradition of having memorials of statesmen and former Prime Ministers at the very place of their funerals," Kharge said in his two-page letter.
The Congress chief said Dr Manmohan Singh holds a highly revered place in the psyche of the country and the people of this nation, and his contributions and achievements were phenomenal.
He also said that Dr Singh's erudition on economic and fiscal matters came from his vast experience as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, chief economic advisor to the government of India and in various other capacities in several organisations, and the respect and regard that world leaders had for him bears testimony to this fact.
Kharge said Singh's wise counsel, leadership and contribution in mitigating the global economic financial crisis is well-acknowledged. He also recalled President Obama's words when as the US president, he mentioned that "whenever the Indian prime minister speaks, the whole world listens to him".
He also said that when the nation was in the throes of a grave economic crisis, it was Dr Manmohan Singh, along with former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, who took India out of the crisis and also led the country towards economic prosperity and stability.
The nation today reaps the benefits of the robust economic foundations built by them, Kharge noted.
"Coming from a humble background and having experienced the pains and sufferings of the Partition, it is through his sheer grit and determination that he rose to become one of the leading statesmen of the world. I hope and trust that befitting stature of Dr Manmohan Singh, request to have the funeral of Dr Singh at a place where his memorial can be built, will be acceded," Kharge said in the letter.
Congress Legislature Party leader in Punjab assembly Pratap Singh Bajwa also separately urged Prime Minister Modi to have Manmohan Singh's funeral at a place where a memorial could be built later in his honour.
"I urge Prime Minister @narendramodi to honour Dr Manmohan Singh, one of the most towering Sikhs of modern times, with a memorial befitting his immense contributions to our nation. Rising from humble beginnings in a historic state, representing a community that has always stood steadfast for India's unity and progress, Dr Singh's life is a testament to intellect, integrity, and selfless service," he posted on X.
Bajwa said Punjabis across faiths and political lines unite in their heartfelt plea to recognise this son of Punjab, who played an instrumental role in shaping India's destiny, with the respect he deserves.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed the Centre has "declined" the request of Manmohan Singh's family for performing the funeral and last rites at a place where an appropriate memorial may be built.
There is no official word from the government on Kharge's request.
However, Badal took to X to post, "Shocking and unbelievable! It is condemnable in the extreme that Union Govt has declined the request of Dr Manmohan Singh Ji's family for performing the funeral and last rites of the highly distinguished leader at a place where an appropriate and historic memorial may be built to commemorate his unparalleled services to the nation."
He further said this place should be Raj Ghat.
"This will be in keeping with the settled practice and tradition followed in the past," Badal said.
He said it is "inexplicable" why the government is "showing such disrespect to the great leader who was the only member of the Sikh community to rise to become the Prime Minister".
"As of now, the cremation is slated to be performed at the common cremation ground at Nigambodh ghat. I am unable to believe that the BJP govt's bias would go to such extremes in utter disregard of the towering global stature which Dr Manmohan Singh ji enjoyed and will always enjoy," Badal further said in his post.
He said Singh took the country to great international heights.
"Our political differences with the Congress apart, we have always held Dr Manmohan Singh in the highest esteem as he transcends politics and political affiliations. He belongs to the entire nation.
"Dr Sahib showed great sensitivity and compassion in his dealings with Shiromani Akali Dal over Sikh and Punjab issues," said Badal urging Modi to "intervene personally to change this deplorable decision of the government".
Singh passed away on Thursday night at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at the age of 92.
आज सुबह कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष ने प्रधानमंत्री को पत्र लिखकर प्रस्ताव दिया था कि पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री डॉ. मनमोहन सिंह का अंतिम संस्कार ऐसे स्थान पर किया जाए जहां उनकी विरासत का सम्मान करने के लिए एक स्मारक बनाया जा सके।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 27, 2024
हमारे देश के लोग यह नहीं समझ पा रहे हैं कि भारत सरकार उनके वैश्विक…
