Johor Bahru : The junior Indian men’s hockey team suffered its first defeat of the 7th Sultan of Johor Cup, going down 4-3 to Australia here today.
India came from behind to take the lead in the first half, but careless mistakes meant they were forced to chase the game for most part of the final quarter. Dilpreet Singh (30th and 47th minutes) and Sanjay (9th) scored for India but goals from Joel Rintala (3rd), Coby Green (36th), Jonathan Bretherton (45th) and Nathan Ephraums (49th) were enough for Australia to secure a crucial victory. Despite the loss, India, who won all their previous matches, still have their fate in their own hands. India, second in the table with 9 points, face table toppers Great Britain in their final pool match on Saturday. Even a victory will not secure India a berth in the final as third-placed Australia (9 points) will take on Malaysia in their final round-robin match. India have a goal average of 23, while Australia’s is 22. India will have to improve their performance by a few notches to overcome Great Britain, who beat Japan 3-1 today to make it four wins in four matches.In today’s match — which saw attacking hockey, albeit disorganised at times — India matched the defending champions in the initial stages but lost their structure after halftime. Great Britain, who beat Australia 4-2 yesterday and have conceded just three goals till now, will be a much tougher nut to crack.