Five-time India thus maintained their unbeaten streak in the tournament, collecting 13 points from five league matches with the help of four wins and a draw.
With three wins and a draw, India are currently leading the six-team league table with 10 points and a goal difference of eight.
India took the lead in the 28th minute through Mandeep Singh and looked set to earn their second consecutive win of the six-team tournament, but a defensive error led to Jonghyun Jang scoring from a penalty corner.
Varun Kumar converted a penalty corner in the 24th minute to hand India the lead before Simranjeet Singh (55th) scored a diving field goal from skipper Manpreet Singh's brilliant pass to secure full three points.
India's previous outing at Sultan Azlan Shah ended with the team finishing fifth but saw some good performances by a young unit combined with a few senior players.
India begin their campaign against Japan on March 23 and will be looking to continue their winning form against the Japanese side.
Hockey India has retained all 18 players in the Indian team that took part at the World Cup last December.
India thus avenged the 2-3 loss to Ireland in their last league stage match on Friday which had eliminated their already slim chances of qualifying for the medal rounds.
Having grabbed the lead on two occasions (1-0 in the 10th minute and 2-1 in the 26th minute), the Indian men's team fumbled in the end in their last round-robin match against Ireland on Friday.
For India to qualify for the final, they will first have to beat Ireland by a big margin and hope Australia beat Argentina and the final round robin match between Malaysia and England ends in a draw.
In the first game, India lost to Agrentina 2-3 followed by a draw against England. In the third match, India lost to Australia 2-4.
India were trailing 0-4 after the third quarter but scored two quick goals through Ramandeep Singh in the fourth quarter to avoid a whitewash.
After one loss and a draw, India are currently placed fourth in the six-team tournament with just one point, whereas, Australia are positioned atop the table with two wins from as many games.
By virtue of this draw, last year’s bronze medallist India are now placed fourth in the table in the six-team tournament.
India are fielding a young team here in the absence of key players like Akashdeep Singh, SV Sunil, Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh.
India last played against Argentina in the World League Final in Bhubaneswar where the hosts lost a place in the title-round after losing 0-1.
The Indian Team is presently in Ipoh, Malaysia for the 27th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup where they play Argentina in their opening match on Saturday.
In the previous edition, India had finished third after beating New Zealand 4-0 while Great Britain won the title after beating Australia 4-3 in the final.
The experienced mid-fielder exuded confidence that India can come up with a solid show in the season-opening event which also features England, Ireland and hosts Malaysia.
After having ended 2017 by winning the bronze medal in the World League Final in Bhubaneswar, the Indian hockey team began preparations for the upcoming assignments including Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Commonwealth Games this year.
Top News
Latest News
