Sultan of Johor Hockey: India makes a winning start with 4-2 win over hosts Malaysia
Sultan of Johor Hockey: India makes a winning start with 4-2 win over hosts Malaysia India started its campaign in the Sultan of Johor Cup Hockey Tournament with a 4-2 win over the hosts Malaysia on Saturday. Earlier, Australia and great Britain also won their opening games. For India, it was a credible win after conceding 0-2 lead in the first quarter. Playing to a plan, India had two penalty corner conversions as well as a penalty stroke besides a brilliant field goal by Uttam Singh seconds before the final hooter to romp home with maximum three points in the six-nation tournament. In fact Malaysia started with a bang scoring in the 8th and 9th minutes. Hassan Muhammad set the scoring in motion with a field goal followed by a penalty corner conversion in the next minute through Muhammad Zainuddin. Stung by the early reverses, India re-organised its defence and offensive strategy. Besides covering weak links in the defence, the visitors also started looking for weak spots in their opponents defence. Punching holes with concerted efforts, India reduced the margin in the 18th minute when a Malaysian defender brought down an Indian attacker in the striking circle. The resultant penalty stroke saw Rahul Rajbahar making no mistake. Trailing 1-2 at the half time, India came back strongly in the third quarter scoring through penalty corner conversions by Pratap Lakra in the 33rd minute and by Shailanand Lakra in the 39th minute. Once in lead, India attacked Malaysia more fiercely. Efforts bore fruit and India rounded off its tally with a brilliant field goal by Uttam Singh in the last minute.Earlier, Australia beat Japan 2-1 while Great Britain recorded 2-0 win over New Zealand. -PTC News
