Nagoya, Sep 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) India head coach Craig Fulton was pleased with his team’s emphatic 13-1 victory over Indonesia in their opening Pool A match at the Asian Games here on Sunday but said there were still areas to improve ahead of their next fixture against Sri Lanka.
India began their title defence in dominant fashion as eight different players found the target, with Dilpreet Singh scoring four goals. Shilanand Lakra and Sukhjeet Singh scored twice each, while Abhishek, Rajinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Jugraj Singh were also on the scoresheet.
“Yeah, happy with the first game. I think the boys did well for the four quarters. Not an easy game. We sat with a lot of possession, obviously. All credit to Indonesia; they kept playing all the way through to the end,” Fulton said after the match in a video shared by Hockey India.
India raced to a 2-0 lead in the opening quarter through Shilanand and Abhishek before taking complete control in the second quarter. Dilpreet scored twice in quick succession, followed by goals from Rajinder, Mandeep and Harmanpreet as India went into half-time with a 7-0 advantage.
Indonesia pulled one back through captain Aulia Al Ardh from a penalty corner in the 33rd minute, but India quickly restored their dominance, with Shilanand, Dilpreet and Sukhjeet finding the net to make it 10-1 at the end of the third quarter.
Jugraj, Sukhjeet and Dilpreet then added three more goals in the final quarter, with Dilpreet completing his four-goal haul in the 49th minute.
“At the same time, 13-1, we’ll take it for sure. And we had some good phases and some areas that we can definitely improve, and that’s what we’ll be looking for in the second game against Sri Lanka,” said Fulton.
The Indian coach also acknowledged that his side could have converted more of its opportunities while pointing to the need to tighten up defensively after conceding a goal.
“Good start, and some areas to improve in." Obviously conceding a goal, and we left a few goals out there, but at the same time, good win and happy with the win,” he added.
India will next face Sri Lanka in their second Pool A match on September 22.
Source: IANS
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