Defending champions Malaysia picked up their first defeat of the Junior Asia Cup after India edged them 5-4 at the Kuantan Hockey Stadium, yesterday.
Malaysia won the first game 4-1 and led in the match against India on two occassions – though they were eventually unable to prevent India from winning the match.
Malaysia took the lead on the first minute of the game, with Shahrul Saabah firing home after a defensive mishap from India.
But 10 minutes later, Mandeep Singh restored parity by making it 1-1 for India. Shahril though eventually netted his second goal of the game on the 20th minute, allowing Malaysia to have a slender lead going into half-time.
The away side adopted an aggresive approach after the break, which allowed them to score through Gurjant Singh on the 40th minute. They went on to convert two penalty corners on the 46th as well 50th minute to make it 4-2 on the day.
Mandeep made it 5-2 on the 61st minute, and despite Malaysia scoring two late goals through Sufi Ismat as well as Shahrl Saabah, they were unable to prevent India from ultimately claiming the win.
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