Men's Junior Asia Cup: India Secures Final Spot with 3-1 Win Over Malaysia
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Muscat (Oman), Dec 3 (NationPress) The Indian Junior Men's Hockey Team competed against Malaysia in the semifinal of the Men's Junior Asia Cup here on Tuesday, securing a 3-1 victory to reach the final. Dilraj Singh (10’), Rohit (45’), and Sharda Nand Tiwari (52’) scored for India, while Kamaruddin Azimuddin (57’) provided a consolation goal for Malaysia late in the match.
Malaysia began the match aggressively, quickly gaining a penalty corner. However, the Indian defense held strong. Shortly after, Captain Che Nur Aqilrullah tested India's goalkeeper Bikramjeet with a powerful shot.
The mounting pressure led to another penalty corner for Malaysia, but once again, Kamaruddin Azimuddin’s flick was thwarted. India sought to transition quickly from defense, and in the 10th minute, Araijeet Singh Hundal set up Dilraj Singh in the shooting circle. Despite being off balance, Dilraj managed to bypass Malaysian goalkeeper Mohamad Rafaizul with a decisive shot, putting India in the lead.
Malaysia remained undeterred as they started the second quarter, maintaining their effort and earning several penalty corners, but India effectively defended against their advances while launching frequent counterattacks. Indian forwards Araijeet and Gurjot Singh had promising scoring chances but were unable to convert, leaving the halftime score at 1-0 in favor of India.
India aimed to increase their lead in the third quarter, but Malaysia marked all Indian players closely and contested every loose ball to keep the scoreline tight. Midway through the quarter, Malaysia earned a penalty corner, but the shot hit the post.
India began to circulate the ball meticulously in search of gaps, but a yellow card with five minutes left in the quarter meant they had to defend a man down. Despite this challenge, Malaysia could not breach the Indian defense and conceded a penalty corner in the final seconds. This time, Vice Captain Rohit executed a powerful drag flick into the top right corner, extending India’s lead to 2-0.
As the last quarter commenced, India took greater control, earning a penalty corner with ten minutes remaining. Yet, Mohamad Rafaizul made remarkable consecutive saves to keep the ball out of the net. With eight minutes left, Sharda Nand Tiwari seized on a deflected shot from a penalty corner and unleashed a reverse tomahawk, further increasing India’s advantage.
With just three minutes to go, Malaysia was awarded a penalty stroke, and Kamaruddin Azimuddin converted it against Prince Deep Singh to score their first goal. Nonetheless, India maintained their composure for the remainder of the quarter, concluding the match with a 3-1 victory.
India is set to face last year's finalist Pakistan once more in the final of the Men's Junior Asia Cup on Wednesday. Last time, India secured the gold medal with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over their long-time rivals.
