Indian colts thump Spain 3-1 to reach semi-finals of 4-Nations tourney

The Indian junior men's hockey team produced a dominating performance as they outplayed hosts Spain 3-1 to storm into the semi-finals of the Four-Nations Invitational tournament here on Friday.

India applied pressure and pushed the hosts on the defensive from the starting hooter. They won their first penalty corner in the fifth minute and Parvinder Singh's conversion gave them a 1-0 lead.

Spain clawed their way back with a penalty corner conversion of their own in the 16th minute, by Gerard Garcia.

India kept their attacking intent alive though and kept on the offensive throughout the half. They won a host of penalty corners, midway through the half, but Alberto Carnicer in Spain's goal denied them the lead.

India once again took the lead before the half-time when Nilakanta Sharma scored a superb goal in the 30th minute.

Spain came out of halftime more organized at the back and were soon making incursions into the Indian defence right at the start of the second half. A swift counter attack by India in the 41st minute, finished by Armaan Qureshi, effectively killed off the game though, as India held on for a 3-1 win.

India, who have now climbed top of the standings after round-robin stages, will once-again take on Spain in the semi-finals of the 4-Nations Invitational Tournament on Saturday.