India beat hosts in high-scoring thriller

Kuantan (Malaysia), Nov 15

India faced a few anxious moments right at the end before eking out a close 5-4 win over hosts Malaysia and register their second consecutive win at the 8th Men’s Junior Asia Cup here today.

With this win, India rise to the top of Pool A. They will play China in their last encounter of the group stage on Tuesday. India had defeated Japan 2-1 yesterday.

Malaysia drew first blood with a goal in the opening minute. India, however, came back strongly to level the scores within 10 minutes through forward Mandeep Singh. The first half saw both the teams pressing hard until Malaysia scored again to take the lead in the 25th minute.

In the second half, India pressed hard for the equaliser but in the process conceded a penalty corner after a Malaysian counterattack. It was bravely saved by goalkeeper Suraj Karkera.

The save started the turnaround for India with Gurjant Singh scoring the equaliser for India. With 23 minutes left in the game, India were awarded two back to back penalty corners, one of which was beautifully converted by Harmanpreet Singh to give India the lead for the first time in the game.

Another streak of consecutive penalty corners within seven minutes resulted in India converting another set-piece through Harmanpreet.

Mandeep’s second goal of the match a little later ensured India’s comfortable three-goal lead as the score stood at 5-2.

However, the Malaysians pressed hard and succeeded to break through the Indian defence, scoring two consecutive goals in the dying moments of the game. The Indians, however, got their act together to earn their second victory in the tournament.

“It was a very good effort by the team. The boys showed impeccable attacking ability. The defence was tested to such an extent for the first time and it was a narrow escape. We will take positives out of the game and work hard on finding a balance between attack and defence,” coach Harendra Singh said. — PTI