HSB / Ipoh (Malaysia)
India today beat Malaysia 4-2 in the third league match of the Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh. With this win, India now has seven points and go joint- top of the table with South Korea. Malaysia has slipped to the third position and stay on six points.
Scoring two goals in each half, India overpowered hosts Malaysia 4-2 to record their second win in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey here on Tuesday.
After a goalless first quarter of play, Sumit Kumar scored first for India in the 17th minute while he got the second towards the end of the half in 27th minute.
In between, Malaysia converted a penalty corner, courtesy Razie Rahim in 21st minute. In the third quarter, Varun Kumar took advantage of an eighth penalty corner to provide India a three-goal advantage.
In the final quarter, with three minutes to go, Malaysia reduced the deficit to just one goal. But, Mandeep Singh immediately shot back with a field goal with seconds left on the clock.
For the winners Sumit (17′), Sumit Kumar Jr (27′)Varun Kumar (36′) and Mandeep Singh (58′) were the goal scorers. , Razie Rahim(21st), Firhan Ashari (57th) chipped in with a goal each for the losers.
India had beaten Japan 2-0 in the first match and drew their second game against Korea 1-1.
It was India who made first foray into the rival‘s striking circle through forward Simranjeet Singh but the hosts were alert to ward off initial danger.
Five minutes into the game, Malaysia won their first penalty corner but Krishan Pathak guarding the post brought off a brilliant save. .
India adapted to full-press, putting their best defence on display. Vice Skipper Surender Kumar continued to be the main-man for the side in the backline thoroughly supported by the experienced Birendra Lakra, making important connections that helped the forward line surge into the striking circle.
Varun Kumar’s pass into the top of the circle saw Hardik Singh work in tandem with Mandeep Singh to set up a shot on goal. It was eventually Sumit who got the right deflection helping India take an important 1-0 lead in the 17th minute.
Soon after, Malaysia rallying on a good counter attack won their second penalty corner of the match. Though their first attempt was well-saved by PR Sreejesh, who replaced Krishan after the first quarter, Razie Rahim did not disappoint his home crowd as he struck low to give Malaysia an equaliser in the 21st minute.
India looked for potential counter attack. A good tackle by Sumit to dispossess Malaysia’s Faizal Saari set-up India’s second goal. This time it was Sumit Kumar Jr who put the ball past Malaysia goalkeeper Hairi Rahman in the 27th minute.
The third quarter was intense with both teams rallying on counter attacks but India remained determined. They challenged the Malaysian defence with solid circle entries, Mandeep Singh worked his magic yet again winning another penalty corner .Dragflicker Varun Kumar, scored on a re-take with a powerful flick, keeping the ball low to the left (3-1).
Though Malaysia made numerous attempts on goal in the third quarter, including a penalty corner an alert Krishan who had come back to the post did well to keep lead.
The fourth quarter,though saw Malaysia score a field goal through Firhan Ashari in the 57th minute who did well to beat Sreejesh at post after he had made two great saves earlier in the quarter.
In the 58th minute, a brilliant circle entry and assist by Sumit Kumar Jr to Mandeep Singh helped him score India’s fourth goal ending the match on 4-2.
Earlier today, Canada beat Japan 2-1 and South Korea defeated Poland 3-2 in the league matches at the Azlan Shah Cup.
FT: 🇲🇾 2-4 🇮🇳
India beat Malaysia 4-2 in their third match of the tournament to continue to remain a contender for the 🔝 spot! #IndiaKaGame #SultanAzlanShahCup2019 pic.twitter.com/qczj7qJ55S
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) March 26, 2019