Sultan of Johor Cup: Unbeaten India outclass hosts Malaysia 4-2

Johor Bahru (The Uttam Hindu): Unbeaten Indian junior men's hockey team registered their third consecutive win on Tuesday as they comfortably beat hosts Malaysia 4-2 at the Sultan of Johor Cup here on Tuesday. With this win, India is on top of the points table with nine points while New Zealand is placed second with 5 points and Australia are placed third with four points. Sharda Nand Tiwari (11'), Arshdeep Singh (13'), Talem Priyobarta (39') and Rohit (40') scored in India's win while Muhammad Danish Aiman (8') and Harris Osman (9') scored for Malaysia.

It was, in fact, hosts Malaysia who made a roaring start to the match by putting India on the backfoot early in the game. A quick-fire goal was set up by their captain Muhammad Addy Jazmi Jamlus who assisted Muhammad Danish Aiman to score a fine field goal in the 8th minute of the match. They doubled this lead in the following minute when Osman Harris scored from a PC.

Though the 2-0 lead for Malaysia was a setback for India, their forwards shook off the early nerves and created scoring opportunities. In-form drag-flicker Sharda Nand Tiwari helped India score their first goal in the 11th minute through a perfectly converted PC.

India equalised in the 13th minute when Arshdeep Singh assisted by Manmeet Singh scored a fine field goal. While the second quarter remained goalless, there was plenty of action in the third quarter with India returning from the half-time break with renewed vigour in their attack. For the first time in the match, they took a narrow 3-2 lead in the 39th minute when Talem Priyobarta took a successful shot on goal from the edge of the circle. Later, Rohit extended the lead to 4-2 with a fine PC attack.

The fourth quarter began with Malaysia earning a PC, but they were off the mark. In the following minutes, there was a flurry of PC's won by both India and Malaysia but neither could come up with a successful conversion. However, India did well to hold on to the 4-2 lead till the final hooter and stay on top of the points table.