The Indian hockey team played like pros on Thursday, coming back from an early deficit to beat Malaysia 4-1 in their second Super 4s match of the men’s Asia Cup event in Rajgir, Bihar.
The home team started slowly, and Shafiq Hassan gave Malaysia a shocking lead in the second minute. But India swiftly got back together and fought back hard. Manpreet Singh (17th minute), Sukhjeet Singh (19th), Shilanand Lakra (24th), and Vivek Sagar Prasad (38th) all scored goals for India. They won after drawing 2-2 with Korea in their first Super 4s match on Wednesday.
India is now at the top of the Super 4s rankings with four points after two games after this important win. They are ahead of China and Malaysia, who both have three points, and Korea, the incumbent champion, is in last place with just one point.
After taking a break on Friday, India will play China in their last Super 4s encounter on Saturday. The team simply needs to tie to get to the final on Sunday.
A Dominant Show After a rough start, Malaysia startled the Indian team with an early goal. They were without two crucial players: Fitri Saari, who was suspended for bad behavior, and Abu Kamal Azrai, who didn’t play either. Hassan took advantage of a mistake by the defense and slipped by Sanjay and Jugraj Singh to score with a reverse stick stroke. India’s defense looked weak in the first quarter, but they were able to stop any further goals. Even though they fell behind early, India controlled the ball and made a lot of chances during the quarter.
The Indians started to come back in the second quarter. Manpreet Singh scored after two penalty corners in a row. The Malaysian goalie, Hafizuddin Othman, saved Harmanpreet Singh’s flick, then Manpreet Singh scored on the rebound. The Indian team looked to be fired up after the equalizer, which made the pressure even higher. Sukhjeet Singh slammed the ball in from close range just two minutes later, thanks to a smart assist from Shilanand.
Shilanand Lakra redirected a pass from Dilpreet Singh that broke through the defense and into the goal, making India’s lead 3-1. The Men in Blue had a good advantage going into halftime.
In the second half, Malaysia got their first penalty corner, but Krishan Bahadur, India’s goalkeeper, produced a great stick save to stop Syed Cholan. India scored their last goal in the 38th minute, which was their sixth penalty corner. Sumit picked up the ball after Jugraj’s flick hit the post and delivered it to Manpreet. Then, Vivek Sagar Prasad skillfully put the last pass into the net. India kept control of the last quarter, making chances but without scoring again.
More Games
In a previous match, China shocked five-time champions Korea by winning 3-0 in a thrilling game. China also had to play with two fewer players because of discipline. Benhai Cheng scored two goals, one in the 13th minute and one in the 43rd minute. Jiesheng Gao scored the other goal from a penalty corner. China won for the first time in the Super 4s stage.
Bangladesh beat Kazakhstan 5-1 in the 5th and 6th place play-off. Ashraful Islam and Roman Sarkar both scored two goals, and Tayab Ali scored one. Altynbek Aitkaliyev scored Kazakhstan’s only goal.