India keep Youth Hockey5s crown after beating Pakistan in final

MUSCAT: India defended their Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship title on Saturday, defeating Pakistan 3-1 in the final in Muscat.

Romit Pal put India ahead after four minutes and 13 seconds, and Pakistan went into the break a goal down after failing to find an equaliser in the opening quarter. India then stretched the lead in the final quarter, with Ketan Kushwaha scoring in the 12th minute before Shahrukh Ali made it 3-0 a minute later. Mohammad Usman pulled one back for Pakistan in the 16th minute, but India closed out the match comfortably.

India had also beaten Pakistan 7-3 earlier in the tournament. In that game, Kushwaha scored twice, while Rahul Yadav, Shahrukh Ali, Prahalad Rajbhar, Romit Pal and Karan Gautam added one goal each. For Pakistan, Adeel struck twice and Muhammad Usman scored once.

Pakistan still reached the title decider after opening with a 5-0 win over hosts Oman and a 5-2 victory over Bangladesh. The Green Shirts then beat Oman 7-3 in their second meeting before drawing 2-2 with Bangladesh in their last group match to finish second in the standings and qualify for the final, despite losing twice to India during the competition.