India lost 3-4 on
penalties to Great Britain in the Sultan of Johor Cup final on Sunday.
The
Indian junior men's hockey team ended runner-up in the Sultan of Johor Cup
after losing nail-biting penalty shootout 3-4 to Great Britain, here on Sunday.
(India defeat Australia to enter Johor Cup final)
The teams were level 2-2
after full time in the title encounter.
It was Great Britain that
drew the first blood in the 5th minute through a penalty corner goal by Luke
Taylor.
The Great Britain team who
had earlier beaten India in the league matches seemed to be in control of their
game until India were rewarded with a penalty corner in the 12th minute, which
was beautifully converted into a goal by Harmanpreet Singh to draw equivalence.
The next 23 minutes in the
first half saw a lot of attacks and counter attacks but neither of the teams
could capitalize. The 2nd half began with India pressing hard to take the lead
and they were soon rewarded in the 42nd minute with Gurjant Singh pulling off
an absolute stunner, giving India the much needed lead in the game.
Great Britain however
struck shortly after in the 46th minute through Jack Turner to settle the score
at 2-2.
The next 24 minutes saw
numerous attempts to score from both the teams, but the competent goal keepers
and a strong resistance line ensured the match entered the penalty shootout
stage. Great Britain finally edged past the Indian colts in the penalty
shootout scoring 4 goals as opposed to India's 3 goals, to be crowned as the
new champions of the 5th Sultan of Johor Cup.
"It's hard to miss
out on the title from somewhere as close as this, but it's a game and this
defeat today will only help us learn from our mistakes for the future. I am
completely happy with the boy’s performance and I couldn't have asked for more
from them," said India coach Harendra Singh.
"Penalty shootouts
are always random and it's unfortunate that we could not finish it on a charming
note. I would like to cheer Great Britain on being crowned the new
champions."
India had earlier over at
the top of the table in the league encounter just losing one match incongruously
to Great Britain. Sumit Kumar and Harmanpreet Singh with three goals each have
been the top scorers for India in tournament.