Late strike vs Malaysia sends colts into final

Johor Bahru (Malaysia): India defeated hosts Malaysia 2-1 in their last group game to progress to the final of the Sultan of Johor Cup junior men’s hockey here on Friday.

India converted two penalty corners through Gurjot Singh (22nd minute) and Sourabh Anand Kushwaha (48th) to secure the win and set up a summit clash against Australia on Saturday. Malaysia’s goal was scored by Naaveenesh Panicker in the 43rd minute.

It was India’s record eighth final at the Sultan of Johor Cup out of 12 appearances.

Both the teams were sloppy at the start as they found the wet conditions difficult to negotiate after the match started late due to rain. Initially, India tried to catch Malaysia off guard through aerial balls but the ploy didn’t pay dividends.