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Ajay Singh’s fine half-dozen

A Correspondent
RAJSHAHI. May 10: Ajay Singh the tribal striker of the Indian team from the state of Bihar ga
ve ample proof of his goal scoring ability and concern about his side's chances tn the fifth Asian youth under 16 Group Three qualifying round football championship as he pumped tn all six goals in his team's emphatic 6-0 victory against the hapless Maldives today at the local stadium
The Indians, donned In blue, entered the field with the express desire of scoring as many goals as possible — perhaps over ten — In a last ditch attempt to brighten their chances of beating hosts Bangladesh who. with just one match tn hand, have so far maintained a clean slate Bangladesh have won thetr all three matches and need only a draw to emerge as the best team tn the competition In volvlng five South Aslan neigh hours. The champions will go through to the Anais of the meet, to be held In Saudi Arabia.
With the two wing-backs. Du lai Biswas on the right and Reazul Mustafa on the left overlapping with menacing frequency and skipper Amit Das showing some vague glimpses of the hallmark of team coach Gautam Sarkar who. according to some of the pundits of Calcutta football, catapulted himself to the height of a model as a mid fielder with his Industrious and tenacious football, India had little trouble tn grinding thetr maladroit opponents.
India went the whole hog right from the very kick-off and got their first goal in the eighth minute of the match. Du lai Biswas accelerated down the right Hank to float a lovely cross across the goal-mouth and Ajay Singh had all the time in the world to nod the ball home with the Maldives custo dtan Hossain Habib watching helplessly under the bar (1-0)
Maldives broke the Indian stranglehold In the seven teenth minute but their for wards failed to draw level from
a goalmouth melee ■■ the Indian defenders outnumbered an outmaneuvered tlwm In the box in time
n>e Maldives defence had a torrid time since then as the Indian forward a, led by the Irresistible Ajay Singh, poured in from all sides and the second goal appeared to be only a matter of time. It was. in fact, a matter of onfy eleven mln utea when India doubled the margin tn the 28th minute with Ajay Singh connecting hta head to another cross from the right flank by Du lai Biswas (2-«.
India once again averted the danger of a counter-attack in the 31st minute and amerced their unfancied opponents with a third Ro-1 for thetr infrequent but annoying flirting
Gautam Roy. who had hardly anything to do under the Indian bar. was forced to apply some of his goalkeeping exper Use seconds before the buzzer when he parried an attempt by a Maldives forward for a corner.
Indian outside-left Shuklal Tirkey sent in a serachlng cross from the left and Ajay Singh sldevollcyed ft home tn style sfx minutes after the breather to make ft 3-0. thereby earning the distinction of scoring the first hattrick of the meet
The opportunistic Ajay Singh was not .be contented with this feat and went on to hammer three more g^als to
achieve the unique distinction of scoring a double hattrick which raised his tally to seven In this tournament
Ajay Singh scored the fourth goal two minutes later when he leapt in the air to head In a fine cross from mid fielder Prosenjit Paul (4-0)
The Indians looked a little blase after having put four past the Islanders and although the team in red had about 12 minutes to catch their breath the Indians came In another deadly assault in the 22nd minute with Ajay Singh again finding the net after Rezaul's cross from the left had Hossain Habib totally flummoxed (5-0)
Ajay Singh. who had earlier made his mark with a superb goal against Pakistan, added another feather to his cap when In the very next minute he tore down the middle in a solo dash to put the ball Into the net after having lured Hossain Habib out of his post tlon (60)
Ajay missed a fine opportu nlty to score his seventh goal of the match two minutes later as the skilful forward failed to get a round Hossain Habib, the Maldives custodian.
Hossain Habib had the mis fortune of seeing the first red card of the tournament since one Pakistani player received the marching order in an earlier match for having seen the yellow twice In one match, as the Maldives goalkeeper, perhaps out of sheer frustration, handled the ball outside the box and Shri Lankan referee Yappa promptly turned him out of the field In the 26th minute of the second half.
India kept up the pressure for more goals and virtually lay siege around the opposition citadel tn the last 14 minutes but to no avail. Referee Yappa deprived the goal- hungry Indians of a penalty In the 38th minute when he Ignored a clear handball by one of the Maldives defenders inside the prohibited zone.
Musah Fateh of Maldives was shown the yellow card for splurge.
Indian coach Gautam Sarkar, one of the luminaries of the Calcutta maidan in the
Seventies and early Eighties. ' expressed happiness over the big win of his side but he also added that his boys should have won by a margin of a dozen goals.
Gautam Sarkar looked any thing but depressed about the advantageous position of the home side and he said although an uphill task his side will take the strong Bangladesh team in the right frame of mind and will try their level best to cause an upset Tuesday.
TEAMS
INDIA: Gautam Roy. Dulal Biswas. Amit Ghose. Maha Majhi. Rlajul Mustafa. Prosenjit Pual. Amith Das. Anup Mukherjee. Ajoy Singh. Joseph Johnson (Tr1lok Singh) and Shukla) Tirkey
MALDIVES Hussain Habib (Abdullah Rouf). Ahmed Rasheed Ibrahim Luthufee Shamir Mohammed, Moosa Fateh. Ismail Shareef. Mohammed Saeed. Moha mmed Arif. Hussain Ziyad, , Ahmed Marzoog and Zuhatr | Ismail
Referee A H Yappa (Shri Lanka).
TODAY’S MATCH
Pakistan vs Nepal (4.30 pm)