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India beat Malaysia, enter Sultan of Johor Cup final
India finished second in the standings and they will take on table toppers Australia in the final on Saturday
The Indian junior hockey team produced a fine performance to defeat hosts Malaysia 2-1 in their final pool stage match to enter the final of the Sultan of Johor Cup in Johor Bahru on Friday.
India finished second in the standings with three wins, one loss and one draw. They will take on table toppers Australia in the final on Saturday.
Against Malaysia, India opened the scoring through Gurjot Singh (22nd minute) while Sourabh Anand Kushwaha (48th) scored the winner. For Malaysia, Naaveenesh Panicker (43rd) found the back of the net.
With one eye on qualification for the final, India started out on the front foot against the hosts. The forwards looked sharp and were attacking in waves, putting the hosts under pressure.
Malaysia, however, did not just sit back and went on the attack themselves, but India’s defence held firm. Neither side could break the deadlock by the end of the first quarter.
Malaysia got the first attack of the second quarter early but right after India roared back with a flurry of attacks, and hit the crossbar as well.
Malaysia were pinned back in their half and the pressure eventually paid off as Gurjot found the back of the net from a rebound off a penalty corner. From then onwards, India had the lion’s share of possession as Malaysia continued to play catch-up. India went into half-time with a 1-0 lead.
After the break, India came out of the blocks at good speed but hosts Malaysia were starting to fight back. Even though India controlled the tempo for the major part of the quarter, Malaysia’s efforts did turn the game on its head, as they found the equaliser. With a little over two minutes to go, Naaveenesh scored to make it 1-1.
India and Malaysia began the final quarter with a lot of energy. And it was India who got their nose out in front again as Sourabh tapped it home from close range, giving his team a 2-1 lead.
After that, Malaysia threw the kitchen sink as they went in search of an equaliser. And even though there were a couple of good attacks for Malaysia, India, who have traditionally dominated the hosts in this competition, held on to win the contest 2-1.
