The Indian Junior Men's Hockey team lost 1-2 to Great Britain in their fifth match of the 7th Sultan of Johor Cup 2017 at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium.
India's Raushan Kumar's goal in the 25th minute was not enough for India to win the match as Tom Sorsby and Jack Waller helped Great Britain in qualifying for the final of the tournament.
Going into their last round, 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 attack the Indian defence, but good defending kept their efforts out.
However, it was India who dominated the 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's 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 PC was converted well 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 and India failed to qualify for the final match of the 7th Sultan of Johor Cup 2017.
India will now face Malaysia in the Bronze medal match of 7th Sultan of Johor Cup 2017 on October 29.
(With ANI Inputs).
