SOJC: India Edge Malaysia's Young Tigers 2-1

JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s Young Tigers ended their hockey league round with four points after losing 1-2 to India at the 2024 Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) International Hockey Tournament at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium, here, today.

With this result, the national youth squad, coached by Nor Saiful Zaini, is expected to face New Zealand for the fifth and sixth-place classification playoff tomorrow.

Also currently taking place is the match between New Zealand and Great Britain, while Pakistan will play Australia at 8 pm tonight.

The first period of the match between Malaysia and India saw relentless attacks from India, who dominated almost the entire game with ball possession and accurate passing in the midfield, forcing the Young Tigers to defend stoutly in their own area to ensure the first quarter remained scoreless.

Entering the second quarter, the Indian squad opened the scoring in the 20th minute from a penalty corner successfully converted by Gurjot Singh.

The Young Tigers finally broke the deadlock in the third quarter when P. Naaveenesh scored from a penalty corner in the 43rd minute but their joy was short-lived as the final period saw India add to the youth squad's misery with a penalty corner goal in the 48th minute by K. Sourabh Anand.

Meanwhile, Nor Saiful, when met after the match said he was satisfied with the young players' performance despite the narrow loss to India today.

According to him, his players displayed good tactical discipline and managed to put up a strong challenge against India, which fielded experienced players, including those who have played in major leagues and international tournaments.

"I am satisfied with the players because if you look at the game, they controlled the ball well. Many of these Indian players play in the Indian League and World League, so it's tough to take the ball from them.

"But with our tactics, we were still able to penetrate their area and create opportunities," he said after the match.

Nor Saiful said the narrow one-goal defeat against a strong team showed the improved performance of the national youth squad, which is currently preparing for the upcoming Junior World Cup.

Meanwhile, in the just concluded match tonight, New Zealand managed to hold Great Britain to a 2-2 draw while Pakistan shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw against Australia.

The result will see Australia facing India in the final tomorrow.

Pakistan will face Great Britain for the third-fourth playoff while Malaysia take on New Zealand in the classification match for fifth and sixth placing.

-- BERNAMA