FIH Pro League: Jugraj Singh's hat-trick helps India rout South Africa 10-2
A hat-trick from young Jugraj Singh helped India thump South Africa 10-2 in their second match of the FIH Hockey Pro League.
Jugraj Singh scored his hat-trick in the first two quarters of the game (4', 6', 23') as India stamped their authority on the match from the word go.
Jugraj Singh's brilliant hat-trick, courtesy of his impeccable drag flicks, was accompanied by some incredible goals. Harmanpreet Singh (2'), Abhishek (12'), Gursahibjit Singh (24', 36'), Dilpreet Singh (25', 58') and Mandeep Singh (27') all scored for India.
Jugraj Singh was a livewire from the start of the game. He made excellent inroads and brought out his best drag flicking skills as he converted penalty corners to put India in the driver's seat.
India began proceedings with a lethal attack that exposed the South African defense, earning a penalty corner as early as the first minute of the game. While Harmanpreet's first attempt was blocked by South African rusher Keenan Horne, the vice-captain was perfect on his second attempt.
His fiercely-struck flick beat South Africa goalkeeper Estiaan Kriek.
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The opening goal for India set the pace for their attack and opened the floodgates as they went on to score three more goals in the first quarter.
India's second and third goals were through Jugraj Singh, who impressed with his ability to drag flick to perfection. His first goal was struck powerfully to the top right of the goalkeeper and was virtually unstoppable. His next goal, which was well-assisted with a good injection by Jarmanpreet Singh and an accurate stop by Vivek Sagar Prasad, was struck low to the right.
An error by the South African defenders saw Abhishek intercept the ball inside the circle only to take a successful shot on goal in the 12th minute. With four goals on board, India ended the first quarter in a dominant fashion with eight shots on goal and 65% ball possession.
The second quarter witnessed South Africa create some inroads into the striking circle, with Horne taking a potential shot on goal in the 22nd minute. However, India's defense held fort to avoid conceding a goal.
Jugraj Singh makes more inroads
Meanwhile, the team's forwardline stitched together a good structure that resulted in back-to-back goals. Jugraj Singh scored his hat-trick when he converted a PC earned by Abhishek in the 23rd minute and Gursahibjit Singh scored a minute later.
Dilpreet added another in the 25th minute and Mandeep Singh struck in the 27th minute taking India's lead to a formidable 8-0 ahead of half-time.
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With a strong lead, India seemed to drop the momentum a bit in the third quarter. An initial burst in attack saw Gursahibjit Singh score his second goal of the match in the 36th minute. However, some sloppy Indian defending gave way to the South African forwardline to create chances in the striking circle.
India ended up conceding at least three PCs, out of which South Africa converted one when Daniel Bell pushed the ball past Sreejesh's left foot in the 44th minute.
The goal did a world of good for the hosts' confidence as they struck another fine field goal via Richard Pautz in the 45th minute.
Though India continued to enjoy a 9-2 lead, the two goals scored by the hosts made them more upbeat as they hunted for a third goal.
The final quarter saw both teams create enough opportunities to score. While India's defense rallied together to avoid conceding a third goal, their forwardline worked together to help Dilpreet Singh score in the 58th minute.
The final moments of the game were just spent with India trying to increase their lead but at the hooter, the scoreline read a formidable 10-2 in favor of India.
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