Malaysia Overpowered Euphoric India
Leading the table with 10 points, defending champion’s India has come out as the only undefeated team amongst the seven nations after playing four games until Tuesday. Malaysia did not prove to be an easy prey on home turf. Lackluster India suffered a disappointing 2-5 loss against Malaysia in a round-robin match to slump to their first defeat in the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament at Ipoh on Wednesday.
The goal scorers from Malaysia included Mohamed Amin Rahim, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Mohamed Razie and Nasir Azreen Rizal while the Indian marksmen were Danish Mujtaba and Ravi Pal Singh.
Malaysia dominated over India from the very beginning of the match and took the lead in the 27th minute with Mohamed Amin Rahim scoring off a penalty corner. Malaysia scored their second goal in the 39th minute of the match with a reverse flick by Tajuddin. Two minutes later, defender Razie moved up in an overlap to find the target and made the lead 3-0.
They looked rusty and lacked the consistency and flair with which they exhibited their 4-3 memorable win over World Champions Australia in the previous match. They earned seven penalty corners but could convert only one with a rebound by Danish Mujtaba in the 44th minute.
Malaysia continued their attacks with accelerated pace and slammed in two more goals through strikes by Rahim from their fifth penalty corner and Rizal through a field goal to take control of the match. India managed to pull one back with Ravi Pal scoring second goal in the dying minutes of the match. The match ended with a final score of 5-2.
It was the biggest margin of victory ever achieved by a Malaysian team over the Indians. Credit must go to the Malaysians for dominating the proceedings in the midfield with intelligent short passes. Their wingers Shahrun Nabil and Tengku Ahmad Tajudin worked tirelessly.
The Indian players seemed complacent throughout the match. Their midfielders Ravi Pal Singh Gurbaj Singh, Danish Mujtaba, Arjun Halappa and Prabodh Tirkey were incapable to outwit the Malaysia turnovers, thereby adding more pressure on Dhananjay Mahadik, Sardar Singh and rookies Rupinder Pal Singh and Amit Prabhakar in the defense.
There was a lack of understanding and coordination amongst the forwards which comprised of Captain Rajpal Singh, Shivendra Singh, Tushar Khandekar and Mandeep Antil.
“We had good games against opponents much stronger than Malaysia. I think the boys took this match for granted and paid a heavy price,” a team official told to a local newspaper from Malaysia.
India still leads the standings with 10 points and needs an outright win over Egypt on Saturday to confirm their place in Sunday’s final.
Malaysia now stands second in the point table with 8 points from 5 games. Malaysia’s chances of making it to the final will hinge on whether they win their next match against China on Thursday. The Malaysians will also require some help from the Australians who have to beat South Korea in order for them to qualify.
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