India go down to Britain, to miss Johor hockey final
: The Indian Junior men’s hockey team lost 1-2 to Great Britain in a hard-fought encounter, thereby failing to qualify for the final of the 7th Sultan of Johor Cup. India will play bronze medal play-off match against Malaysia on Sunday.
Raushan Kumar’s goal in the 25th minute was not enough for India to win the match as Tom Sorsby (20th minute) and Jack Waller (52nd minute) helped Great Britain qualify for the final.
Going into their last round robin match, India needed a win in order to qualify for the final of the tournament, whereas Great Britain only required a draw.
The latter started brightly as they did not allow the Indians to make the transition from defence to attack. On the other hand, Great Britain tried to mount attack on the Indian defence but were kept at bay.
In the second quarter, it was Great Britain, who took the initiative
JOHOR BAHRU
as they were awarded three penalty corners in the 20th minute, the first two of which were well defended by India. But it was third time lucky when Tom Sorsby scored with a shot past India’s Pankaj Rajak.
India gained some momentum after going behind as they searched for an equaliser. In the 25th minute, Maninder Singh found Dilpreet Singh and his shot was deflected into the net by Raushan Kumar to level.
The last quarter was essential in the context of the match as both the teams looked to win by finishing strongly. It was Great Britain who got the better chances in the last quarter as they won a penalty corner in the 52nd minute. It was converted by dragflicker Jack Waller as India went behind 1-2.