With the help of striker Mandeep Singh's hat-trick, India defeated Canada 7-3 to enter the final of the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament. Mandeep scored a goal in the 20th, 27th and 29th minutes. Earlier, Varun Kumar gave India an edge in the 12th minute.
India booked a place in the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019 with a 7-3 win over Canada in a goal-laden league match on Wednesday at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium, Ipoh. India's place in the final was confirmed after Korea defeated host Malaysia 2-1 in the final match of the day. India and Korea are the two undefeated teams in the tournament with ten points each and will face off in the final on Saturday.
Dominant 4-2 wins over host Malaysia on Tuesday, India was quickly out of the blocks and went close through Simranjeet Singh and Shilanand Lakra.
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 was 4-0 ahead in the half time. Mark Pearson scored a goal in the 35th minute for Canada. For India, Amit Rohidas scored 39th, Vivek Prasad scored 55th and Nilakanta Sharma scored in 58th minute. Fin Boorthroyd for Canada scored 50th and James Wallace scored a goal in the 57th minute.
With this victory, India continued the unbeatable campaign in the tournament. In the group stage, India won three matches and earned 10 points by playing a draw. India defeated Asian champions Japan 2-0 in the first match and hosts Malaysia 4-2 in the first match. The Indian team played 1-1 draw from South Korea in the second match.
Now, one match has reached the rest of India. He has to play the last league match from Poland on Friday. Korea is in second place with seven points, while Malaysia and Canada have six points.
