Harmanpreet, Akashdeep net two goals apiece
In a clinical display, the Indian men's hockey team on Wednesday notched up a commanding 8-0 win against Canada to stay on course to top Pool B. Canada, who are ranked 12th in the world, failed to match the speed, skill or fluency of Manpreet Singh and Co.
That said, the scoreline could have touched double digits had the strike force - Mandeep Singh in particular - put the finishing touches to goalbound balls.
The red-hot Harmanpreet Singh was the first to put his name on the scoresheet in the seventh minute when he sent his drag-flick past Canada custodian Ethan McTavish.
Three minutes later, Amit Rohidas weaved his way into the circle with a long ball from Varun Kumar and found the back of the net.
The packed Canada defence helped the hosts eke out goal opportunities at will and by the 27th minute, India had raced to a 4-0 advantage, with the other two goals coming from Lalit Upadhyay (20) and Gurjant Singh (27). The Canadians, defensive to begin with, had their moments too, but India had their defence packed.
The crucial factor in India's execution was midfield play, which was controlled well by Manpreet and Nilakanta. Also, India tried out variations in penalty corners which worked for them.
The half-time break did not affect India's momentum as they continued to raid the opposition circle. After a quiet few minutes in the third quarter, Akashdeep Singh (38th minute) worked in tandem with Nilakanta to slot the ball past the goalkeeper.
Harmanpreet (56) and Akashdeep (60) struck again but it was Mandeep (58) who redeemed himself with a stylish tomahawk.
India take on Wales in the final group match on Thursday but the Welsh will be no easy meat as they went down fighting to England 2-4 in the opener before defeating Canada 5-1.
