India kicked off their Junior Hockey World Cup campaign with a 4-0 victory over Canada in a one-sided affair. The highlight of the match was Indian defender Varun Kumar’s Cristiano Ronald-esque celebration after scoring the third goal of the fixture.
It was the 60th minute of the match. India were already leading 2-0 when a penalty corner in their favour presented the opportunity to kill off the game. Although Harjeet Singh fumbled in stopping the push, Varun Kumar, the Indian number seven, made no mistake in finding the back of the net to put India in a commanding position.
Immediately after converting the penalty corner, Varun ran a few yards on the turf before breaking into a celebration that resembles Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo’s celebration. He jumped in the air, spun before spreading his hands in a majestic fashion while landing. This celebration is known as the CR7 jump and has been tried by a large number of athletes till now.
Ronaldo is famous for this celebration in the world of football and it certainly seems like the trend is fast catching on in hockey as well. Of course, we have seen this celebration by the former Manchester United star numerous times. Varun wears the number seven jersey, the same number that the Portuguese star wears for Real Madrid, and he would’ve made Ronaldo proud with his celebration!
Also read: Junior Hockey World Cup 2016: Indian colts register a thumping 4-0 victory over Canada
The Indians had a field day as they eased past Canada and dominated from the word go and never let their guard down. The Canadians seemed to lag in a few aspects as they never really got going. Goals from Mandeep Singh, Harmanpreet, Varun and Ajit Pandey secured the 4-0 victory for India.
The excellent understanding between the players resulted in smooth build up play by the Indians. They dominated the opposition throughout the match and reaped the rewards for their efforts.The Indians led 1-0 going into the break but scored three goals in the second half to seal the match.
The other fixtures of the day saw New Zealand scraping past Japan 1-0, while title defenders Germany overcame Spain 2-1. England rallied to defeat South Africa 4-2 in the other Pool D clash. The Indian team faces England in their next fixture on 10 December, 2016 at 7pm IST.
