The Indian junior men’s hockey team played a thrilling 5-5 draw against Great Britain in their last round-robin league match of the Sultan of Johor Cup and remained in the race for a place in the final.
Poovanna CB (7th), Amandeep (50th), Arijit Singh Hundal (53rd) and Sharda Nand Tiwary (56th, 58th) were on target. India While Great Britain scored through Max Anderson (1st, 40th), Harrison Stone (42nd) and Jamie Golden (54th, 56th).
India ended their round-robin league engagements with eight points from five matches and are currently second behind Australia, who have already qualified for the final with 10 points from four matches.
Defending champions Great Britain are out of the running for the final as they have collected just seven points from five matches.
South Africa – on six points from four matches but with a much smaller goal difference than India – could qualify for the final if they beat Australia later on Friday. In that case, India would be out of the reckoning.
Great Britain were out of the block faster than India, with Anderson scoring the first goal of the game early. Minutes later, India also got on the score board, with midfielder Poovanna searching the back of the net.
The pace and evenly contested first quarter ended 1-1.
In the second quarter the two teams continued to play matches with each other, and neither gave way to each other. The match, which is a repeat of the finals of the 2018 and 2019 editions, went into the half-time break with Great Britain and India 1-1 with all classes.
It was India who took an early look at the goal in the third quarter, when they won a penalty corner in the 32nd minute, but were not able to convert. Great Britain went ahead five minutes before the end of the quarter as Anderson scored his second of the game.
A few 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 started on the front foot. In five minutes, India halved the deficit as Amandeep brought himself on the scoresheet.
Shortly after, the match was tied with Arijit Singh Hundal scoring India’s third goal.
Great Britain, however, went through gear in the next few minutes, with Jami Golden scoring in quick succession in the 54th and 56th minutes, restoring the advantage of two goals.
A penalty corner from Sharda Nand Tiwary (56th) brought India back into the game. A few minutes later, Tiwary converted another penalty corner and leveled the score at 5-5. Neither side could get a winner and went away with a point each.
India’s chances of a peak clash berth depend on the outcome of the Malaysia vs Japan and Australia vs South Africa matches, both of which will be played later on Friday.
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