Melbourne: India put up a dominating performance to beat Malaysia 4-1 in the bronze medal play-off match in the Four-Nation Invitational hockey tournament here Sunday.
The Indians managed to control the proceedings from start to finish, scoring twice in the final quarter to post a much deserved victory. The goals were scored by Akashdeep Singh, Talwinder Singh, VR Raghunath and Rupinder Pal Singh.
India dominated from the opening minutes and repeatedly penetrated the Malaysian circle. They took the lead in the second minute, when Birendra Lakra working his way down the middle and found an unmarked Akashdeep inside the Malaysian ‘D’. The latter scored with a deft shot. India could have added a couple more, but the efforts of Kumar Subramaniam under the Malaysian bar thwarted them.
In the second quarter, Indian forward Affan Yousuf came close to scoring by the sheer dint of individual brilliance. However, his firm drive was parried away by Subramaniam.
The game opened up more in the third quarter as Malaysia chased the game. But the Indians defended obdurately and consolidated their lead at the fag end when VR Raghunath converted a penalty corner.
Malaysia hit back almost from the restart, catching India’s defence unaware as Joel van Huizen scored a goal to reduce the margin.
In the final quarter, India maintained the pressure. In the 50th minute Akashdeep turned provider as he got away from the Malaysian defence and provided the perfect ball for Talwinder to strike and make it 3-1. Then in the 58th minute, India made the issue safe when Rupinder hit the target off India’s eighth penalty corner.
PTI
