India qualify for Sultan of Johor Cup hockey final

Johor (Malaysia), Oct 28: The Indian junior men’s hockey team will face Australia in the final of Sultan of Johor Cup on Saturday after finishing second in the round robin stage.
India played out a thrilling 5-5 draw against Great Britain in their last league match on Friday to collect eight points from five games and finish second behind Australia (13 points from five matches).
Poovanna CB (7’ minute), Amandeep (50’), Araijeet Singh Hundal (53’) and Sharda Nand Tiwari (56’, 58’) were on target for India while Great Britain scored through Max Anderson (1’, 40’), Harrison Stone (42’) and Jami Golden (54’, 56’).
Australia beat South Africa 6-1 in their last round-robin league match on Friday.
Great Britain and Japan ended their campaigns with seven points each while South Africa collected six points. Hosts Malaysia finished bottom with one point.
Great Britain were out of the blocks faster than India, with Anderson scoring the first goal of the game early on. A few minutes later, India got on the score board too, with midfielder Poovanna finding the back of the net. The first quarter ended at 1-1.
Despite their search for the lead, the match went into the half-time break with Great Britain and India all square at 1-1.
Great Britain surged ahead five minutes before the end of the quarter as Anderson scored his second of the game. A couple of minutes later, Harrison 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, Araijeet Singh Hundal scored India’s third goal.
Great Britain, however, went through gears in the next few minutes with Jami Golden finding the target in quick succession in the 54th and 56 minute.
Sharda Nand Tiwari’s (56’) penalty corner brought India right back into the game. A couple of minutes later, Tiwari converted another penalty corner, levelling scores at 5-5. (PTI)