Kuala Lumpur, Sept 23: India swamped minnows Bangladesh 10-0 to join Pakistan in the semifinals from Pool B of the Asia Cup Hockey Tournament here today. Toying with a sloppy Bangladeshi defence, eight players sounded the board as India scripted the biggest win of the tournament so far. While Dilip Tirkey (7th, 55th) and Gagan Ajit Singh (37th, 50th) scored twice each, Deepak Thakur (11th), Vikram Pillay 16th), Dhanraj Pillay (33rd), Sandeep Michael (35), Prabhjot Singh (48th) and Baljit Singh Dhillon (53rd) netted once. India, who scored five goals each in both halves, could have won by a bigger margin had they not frittered away at least a dozen scoring opportunities. The big win must have done a world of good to the side's confidence since they will be playing arch-rival Pakistan tomorrow.
Though the match against Pakistan will only help determine the pool leaders, for India it will be of immense importance since it will give them the perfect opportunity to avenge for the loss they suffered against their arch rivals in in Champions Trophy in Amstelveen last month.


India took the lead in the seventh minute through Dilip Tirkey, who came up with a commendable performance in the absence of regular short corner expert Jugraj Singh.
Tirkey's goal opened the floodgates as the Indians scored at will against their weak opponents, who struggled for ball possession throughout the match.

Bureau Report