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Johor bahru (Malaysia), October 28
The Indian junior men’s hockey team played out a thrilling 5-5 draw against Great Britain in its last round-robin league match of the Sultan of Johor Cup. India will play Australia in the final tomorrow.
Australia crushed South Africa 6-1 in an evening match, assuring India of a place in the final. South Africa needed to beat Australia to knock out India and book a place in the final, but the dominant Aussies won easily to reach 13 points from five matches. India ended their round-robin league engagements with eight points from five matches.
Thrilling draw
Poovanna CB (7th minute), Amandeep (50th), Araijeet Singh Hundal (53rd) and Sharda Nand Tiwari (56th, 58th) were on target for India while Great Britain scored through Max Anderson (1st, 40th), Harrison Stone (42nd) and Jami Golden (54th, 56th).
Great Britain were out of the blocks faster than India, with Anderson scoring the first goal in the very first minute. A few minutes later, India got on the scoreboard, with midfielder Poovanna finding the back of the net. The pacy and evenly-contested first quarter ended at 1-1. The second quarter saw the two teams continue to match each other play for play, with neither allowing the other a way through. The match, a repeat of the finals of the 2018 and 2019 editions, went into the halftime break at 1-1.
It was India who had an early look at the goal in the third quarter when they won a penalty corner in the 32nd minute, but they weren’t able to convert it. Great Britain surged ahead five minutes before the end of the quarter when Anderson scored his second of the game. A couple of minutes later, Stone added another for Great Britain as they took control of the game, ending the third quarter 3-1 ahead.
India needed a strong final quarter and began on the front foot. Five minutes in, India halved the deficit as Amandeep got himself on the scoresheet. Shortly after that, the contest was back on level terms when Hundal scored India’s third goal.
Great Britain, however, went through gears in the next few minutes, with Jami Golden finding the target in the 54th and 56 minutes, restoring the two-goal advantage.
Tiwari’s penalty corner conversion in the 56th minute brought India right back into the game. A couple of minutes later, Tiwari converted another penalty corner, levelling the scores at 5-5. Neither side could find a winner in the final four minutes and walked away with a point each.
In another evening match, Malaysia and Japan played out a 2-2 draw.
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