Brendan guraliuk

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: In a high-scoring encounter, the Indian senior men's hockey team outclassed Canada 14-3 to top the pool standings and make the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup here on Saturday.

Having lost only to Belgium by a goal earlier in the tournament, India were upbeat after a sensational 3-2 win against New Zealand in their previous game. The match began with an early goal by Nilakanta Sharma in the fourth minute, followed by a 10th-minute goal by Rajinder Singh, who has been in good nick since his debut in the senior side. It was a thrilling start to the game with Canada responding to the early goals by creating PCs and even converting from them. In the 11th minute, almost as soon as Rajinder's goal, Brendan Guraliuk converted a fine PC. Two more goals were scored in the following minutes through Jugraj Singh and Amit Rohidas in the 12th and 15th minutes, respectively.

This 4-1 lead put India in good stead to build on their performance in the second quarter. With senior stars in the team rested for this tournament, the onus to outshine was on a younger lot, and they did well to hold off pressure from Canadian defence. A flurry of goals continued in the quarter with Rajinder scoring in the 24th minute, Dilpreet Singh in the 25th minute, and Jugraj scoring his second goal in the 26th minute.