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India vanquished Canada 5-1 to top Pool C and storm into the quarterfinals of the 2018 Hockey World Cup. In front of a packed crowd at the Kalinga Stadium, the Men in Blue reiterated their glowing potential by overcoming some tense moments and sealing a majestic triumph.
Harmanpreet Singh's pin-point drag-flick propelled India to an early lead in the 12th minute of the game. However, Canada tightened their defence and reverted pressure on the hosts by gathering a fair share of possession. A stunning counterattack saw them level the score in the third quarter.
Needing an outright victory in order to book a direct quarterfinal berth, India upped their intensity and started to push men forward in the final quarter. Their enhanced aggression paid rich dividends as Chinglensana Singh fired them ahead in the 46th minute.
Lalit Upadhyay extended India's lead with a couple of sparkling field goals. Those twin strikes were sandwiched by a lethal drag-flick from Amit Rohidas.
Here are the three standout players from India's dominant 5-1 victory over Canada in Bhubaneswar.
#3 James Wallace (Canada)
During the first quarter, James Wallace was among the few Canadian midfielders to pose a persistent threat to the free-flowing Indian attackers. The 19-year-old played a physical game to negate his lack of experience at the highest level.
At the stroke of half-time, Wallace embroiled himself in trouble when he used his brawn to challenge Hardik Singh. As a consequence, he received a yellow card and had to spend five minutes off the turf in the third quarter. Although it was a result of his own doing, one would expect such a development to deter any young player.
However, Wallace defied his inexperience by showing enormous mental fortitude. Gordon Johnston dispossessed Simranjeet Singh at the Canadian circle and embarked on a brilliant run. His swift pass found the teenager who had positioned himself smartly at the Indian end.
Despite being crowded by a slew of Indian defenders, Wallace displayed deft stick-work to outsmart them and unfurled a remarkable pass to Floris van Son. The latter converted his immense assist into an equaliser for Canada in the 39th minute.
#2 Lalit Upadhyay (India)
After looking like a shadow of his usual self during the first three quarters, Lalit Upadhyay sprung into action with a stellar performance in the last 15 minutes of the game. With India looking rejuvenated at the start of the final quarter, the 24-year-old from Varanasi reminded onlookers of his penchant for playing attacking hockey.
Almost immediately after Chinglensana's crucial goal, Lalit turned India's lead into a position of strength with a spectacular shot. Displacing the ball off Balraj Panesar, he fired the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-1 in the 47th minute. His canny awareness also helped the Men in Blue earn a penalty corner which was duly converted a rampant Amit Rohidas.
Three minutes before the final hooter, Lalit scored his second goal of the match. This time around, Sumit deserved the lion's share of the credit as he weaved magic along the baseline to produce a brilliant pass.
Lalit was aptly named Player of the Match for scoring two goals and earning a productive penalty corner.
#1 Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (India)
While Harmanpreet Singh might have scored the opening goal and Lalit Upadhyay might have stolen the show in the final quarter, India's rousing comeback was shaped by the tireless efforts of Chinglensana.
During the first quarter, Chinglensana kept the Canadian defenders on their toes by breaching their formation on a regular basis. He helped India earn their third penalty corner in the match.
With the scores level 1-1 in the final quarter, Chinglensana's brilliance pulled India into the lead. When the ball rebounded off goal-keeper Antoni Kindler, he nonchalantly unleashed a strong strike to beat the crowded Canadian defence from a tight angle. His 46th-minute goal allowed the entire arena to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
As he has often done in his career thus far, Chinglensana went unheralded amidst eye-catching performances from some of his teammates. But one cannot do enough justice to the composed manner in which he rose to the occasion at a time when India were under significant pressure.
Head to Sportskeeda to check out the Hockey World Cup schedule for the upcoming matches.
