Hockey Junior Asia Cup: Captain Anmol Ikka scores six goals as India demolish Chinese Taipei 15-0 to reach semifinals

Captain Anmol Ikka scored six goals as defending champions India ended their pool-stage campaign with a 15-0 win over Chinese Taipei to reach the semifinals of the men's Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament in Moqi, China, on Wednesday.Anmol scored all six of his goals from penalty corners as India recovered from a goalless first quarter and took complete control of the match over the remaining three quarters.India finished on top of Pool A with 10 points from three wins and a draw. South Korea also reached the semifinals from the group after beating Japan 3-2 to finish second with nine points.Japan, Indonesia and Chinese Taipei were knocked out of the title race and will now play classification matches.India dominated possession in the opening quarter but could not score against a disciplined Chinese Taipei defence.Coach Frederic Soyez used the first-quarter break to ask for more intensity, and India responded immediately.Aryan Xess opened the scoring in the 17th minute before Prabhdeep Singh doubled the lead a minute later. Gursewak Singh added India's third goal in the 22nd minute, with the team scoring three goals in five minutes.Anmol then started his scoring run. He converted a penalty corner in the 25th minute for his first goal. Arjun Santosh Hargude made it 5-0 in the 28th minute before Anmol scored again from another penalty corner in the 29th minute.India went into half-time with a 6-0 lead.The defending champions continued attacking after the break and earned two penalty corners within the first three minutes of the third quarter.Anmol converted both chances to complete his hat-trick and then added another penalty corner goal to take his tally to four.Ajeet Yadav scored India's ninth goal in the 35th minute after another attacking move.Anmol was not done yet. He converted another penalty corner in the 45th minute to score his fifth goal of the match as India ended the third quarter with a 10-0 lead.India continued scoring in the final quarter. Harpal scored a field goal in the 48th minute before Anmol converted his sixth penalty corner in the 51st minute.Harpal added his second goal of the match, while Aryan Xess also completed a brace as India finished with a 15-0 victory and sealed a place in the semifinals.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.