Men's Olympic qualifiers -- India edge Canada 3-2

By Mario Rodrigues

India were given a fright by Canada before that man Sandeep Singh pulled their chestnuts out of the fire with a brace and kept the hosts firmly on the ‘road to London’ with a nail-biting 3-2 win in a late night match at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium tonight.

India led 1-0 at the break through an opportunistic Shivendra Singh strike in the 26^th minute and 2-0 in the 41^st minute after Sandeep’s drag flick found the mark. But Canada stormed back with goals from Mark Pearson and Scott Tupper to level terms. Sandeep then rose to the occasion and made the issue safe with his ninth goal of the tournament in the 60^th minute.

With this win India remain at the top of the table with 12 points and boast a healthy goal difference too and have one foot in the final. They play Poland (9 points) in their last match on Feb 24. France (9), who are also in the hunt, take on Canada (6) on the same day .

With the Canadians giving nothing away, India have to thank headband wearing Shivendra Singh for crossing over with the lead as he pounced on a loose ball after a rival defender was disposed and hustled it into the net. Sandeep then made it 2-0 from India’s fourth penalty corner. But Canada hit back twice in the space of a couple of minutes with veteran Pearson first dispossessing Ignace Tirkey and reducing the margin. Tupper’s conversion from Canada’s only penalty corner in the 52nd minute then leveled the score and put the heat back on India till Sandeep made the issue safe.

In a tight game Canada, ranked four spots below India’s 10th spot, gave little away and the few crosses from the flanks which penetrated their defence did not find any Indians in scoring positions. The North Americans had the first chance to open the account but Jagdish Gill’s shot hit the outside of the post from a narrow angle.

India struck a good rhythm immediately on resumption of play with S V Sunil hitting the crossbar and Tushar Khandekar and Sarwanjit Singh also having shies at the Canadian citadel. But goalkeeper Antoni Kindler stood his ground. In the end it was the Indian determination that held them in good stead as the North Americans strove might and main to reverse the verdict.

In earlier matches Poland and France kept themselves in the hunt for a final spot with 11-3 and 3-0 wins over Singapore and Italy respectively.