Sultan of Johor Cup: India edge past Malaysia to set up final against Australia
Gurjot Singh and Sourabh Anand Kushwaha found the net as India beat Malaysia 2-1 to qualify for a record eighth Sultan of Johor Cup final.
INew Delhi: India edged past hosts Malaysia 2-1 in their last group game to reach the final of the Sultan of Johor Cup junior men's hockey tournament on Friday at Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Gurjot Singh (22nd minute) and Sourabh Anand Kushwaha (48th) converted two penalty corners to secure India's win and set up a summit clash against Australia on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Naaveenesh Panicker found the net in the 43rd minute. The result took India to a record eighth final at the Sultan of Johor Cup in a total of 12 appearances.
Both teams started sloppily and struggled to find the rhythm in wet conditions after the match started following a rain delay.
India, in an effort to make the best out of the situation, tried to catch Malaysia off guard through long aerial balls, but their strategy didn't pay off.
India assert supremacy in second half
As the match progressed and the pitch became better, India asserted their supremacy and started the second quarter on an aggressive note. The ploy worked as India won two back-to-back penalty corners. However, they failed to take the lead on both occasions after being denied by the Malaysian goalkeeper Haziq Hairul and then by the crossbar from a Araijeet Hundal's rebound hit.
India finally found the breakthrough in the 22nd minute after Gurjot scored from a rebound with an easy tap-in. The goal was scored in the follow-up from a penalty corner, which was saved by the Malaysian custodian.
India went into the half-time with a slender one-goal lead, but were also guilty of being wasteful in front of the goal. India wasted as many as nine penalty corners in the first two quarters and converted just one.
After both teams changed ends, India piled more pressure on the Malaysian defence, but the resolute defence and a superb rearguard effort by the goalkeeper saved the Malaysian team again in the 35th minute with another superb save.
Malaysia levelled the scores in the 43rd minute with Naaveenesh scoring with an easy tap-in. The goal could have been avoided, but the Indian defenders failed to clear the ball from inside the circle.
However, India reclaimed their lead five minutes later when an unmarked Kushwaha netted from a rebound from a one-on-one situation with the Malaysian custodian.