India lose to Great Britain, fail to reach for Johor Cup final

India will play bronze medal play-off match against Malaysia on Sunday.

Courtesy: PTI

Johor Bahru, Malaysia: The Indian Junior men's hockey team lost 1-2 to Great Britain in a hard-fought encounter, thereby failing to qualify for the final of the 7th Sultan of Johor Cup, here on Ssaturday.

India will play bronze medal play-off match against Malaysia tomorrow.

Raushan Kumar's goal in the 25th minute was not enough for India to win the match as Tom Sorsby (20th minute) and Jack Waller (52nd minute) helped Great Britain in qualifying for the final of the tournament.

Going into their last round robin match, India needed a win in order to qualify for the final of the tournament, whereas Great Britain only required a draw.

It was the latter, who started the match brightly as they did not allow the Indians to make the transition from defence to attack.

On the other hand, Great Britain tried to mount attack on the Indian defence but were kept at bay.

However, it was India, who dominated proceedings towards the end of the first quarter as they won a penalty corner also which was well saved by Great Britain's goalkeeper Chris Wyver as Pratap Lakra shot.

In the second quarter, it was Great Britain, who took the initiative as they were awarded three penalty corners in the 20th minute, the first two of which were well defended by India.

But Great Britain were third time lucky when Tom Sorsby scored when he shot past India's Pankaj Rajak.

However, India gained some momentum after going behind as they searched for an equaliser. In the 25th minute, Maninder Singh found Dilpreet Singh just outside the circle with a calculated pass, and Dilpreet Singh shot at goal, which was deflected into the back of the net by Raushan Kumar to level the scores for his team.

The third quarter was an equally balanced period for both the sides as they looked to take an important lead in the match to give themselves a good chance of qualifying for the final.

However, neither team could produce any opportunity to score as the teams ended the third quarter locked at 1-1.

The last quarter was essential in the context of the match as both the teams looked to win the match by finishing the match strongly.

It was Great Britain who got the better goal-scoring chances in the last quarter as they won a penalty corner in the 52nd minute. The penalty corner was converted by drag- flicker Jack Waller as India went behind 1-2.

India looked to get the equaliser after falling behind, but Great Britain's defence would not let them produce any productive opportunities which meant that the game ended 2-1 in Great Britain's favour.