The Hindu : Sport : Indian men trounce Oman

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 09, 2006
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Sport

Sport

Indian men trounce Oman

S. Thyagarajan

DOHA: A 9-0 victory over Oman on Friday gave India a glimmer of hope for a semifinal berth in Pool `B' of men's hockey provided there is an outright victory over South Korea on Sunday. A tall order though, but there is no alternative to keep China from the last four.

The possibility exists because India has a better goal difference than China's plus six. South Korea will make it whatever the outcome against India. Its goal difference is plus 21. India's tally is plus 14 with six points.

While India will rue the reverse against China, the match against Oman came in handy to revive some hopes. In a fierce contest, in which the key element was speed, the defending champion South Korea, showed why it is the Asian powerhouse by defeating China 3-0 .

Earlier India recorded a 7-0 win over Hong Kong in the women's competition, in spite of frittering away a plethora of chances especially in the first half. This was India's third win in four matches. The tally now is nine.

Hong Kong's goalkeeper Ho Yi Shan brought off some splendid saves to deny the Indians more goals. The Indians forced 11 penalty corners with eight of them in the first half.

It was not until Surinder Kaur converted a penalty stroke after about 20 minutes did the Indians settle to a scoring rhythm. The star was Surinder Kaur, who scored four goals.

A tribute is due to skipper Jyothi Kullu, who sustained a head injury against Malaysia. She played a gallant role with her head swathed in bandage. She scored a brilliant goal, a charming deflection off a push from Suman Bala in a penalty corner. Late in the match, she struck another. The fifth goal of the match from Jasjit Handa was a beauty, a withering shot from the top of the circle crashing into the boards.

The results: Men: Pool B: India 9 (Shivendra Singh 3, Hariprasad 2, Dilip Tirkey, Tushar Khandekar 2, Arjun Halappa) bt Oman 0; South Korea 3 (Yeo Woon Koon, Jang Hyun, Jong Ho) bt China 0.

Women: India 7 (Surinder Kaur 4, Jyothi Kullu 2, Jasjeet Handa) bt Kong Kong 0; Japan 3 (Rika Komazowa, Saeke Morimoto, Tomomi Komori) bt China 0; Malaysia 2 (Nadia, Nor Amarina) bt Chinese Taipei 0.

Saturday's matches: Men: Pool `A': Japan v Hong Kong (11.30 a.m.); Pakistan v Chinese Taipei (1.30 p.m.); Women: Chiese Taipei v China (4.30 p.m.); Japan v India (6.30 p.m.); Korea v Malaysia (8.30 p.m.).