Korea thrash Canada in Hockey Jr. World Cup opener

South Korea thrashed Canada 7-4 in the opening match of the Hockey Junior World Cup at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here Friday.

It took Korea only a couple of minutes to make a mark in the tournament when Seo Inwoo deflected a free hit, driven in the circle by Hwang Weonki, into the goal in the Pool C clash.

The Asians maintained pressure on the Canadian defence and doubled their lead in the seventh minute when You Seungju powered in a penalty corner.

Seo Inwoo scored his second goal in the 16th minute to give his team a 3-0 lead.

Canada, though, reacted well after going 0-3 down, forcing two penalty corners and opening their tally through Vikramjeet Sandhu.

Korea added a fourth goal before half-time with an unstoppable penalty corner by You Seungju to go 4-1 ahead.

Korea hit the ground running in the second half with Seo Inwoo completing his hat-trick in the 37th minute. You Seungju was not far behind, completing his own hat-trick on yet another penalty corner to help his side take a 6-1 lead.

You Minyoung scored the seventh and final Korean goal of the day to give the Asian team a 7-1 lead in the 49th minute.

But then the course of the match changed as Canada staged a mini-comeback by adding three more goals to their tally. Gordon Johnston, Jannu Mahal and Oliver Scholfield scored three goals in a span of seven minutes, bringing down the deficit to 7-4 but it was too little too late.

"The boys dominated the game from the start and kept attacking. While the defence was strong in the first half, the boys could not continue with it in the second. This has come as an eye opener and I am happy we realised this in the first match. Our match tomorrow with Netherlands is very important and we are looking forward to it," said Korean coach Kim Young Kyu.