India put one foot in final

Johor Bahru (Malaysia), Oct 16 

The Indian junior men’s hockey team thrashed Australia 5-1 to qualify for the final of the 9th Sultan of Johor Cup here today. 

India’s clinical performance at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium saw goals from Shilanand Lakra (26th, 29th minutes), Dilpreet Singh (44th), Gursahibjit Singh (48th) and Mandeep Mor (50th).

India will face Great Britain in their final round-robin match on Friday. “It is not often that we score a big win over Australia,” India coach BJ Kariapa said. “Now we need one point from our final match against Britain. We may have one foot in the final but it’s never a certainty and we need to focus for Friday’s match,” he added. 

In the other matches of the day, Japan kept alive their hopes of making the final with an impressive 4-2 win over New Zealand, while Malaysia upset Great Britain 1-0 to stay on course for a podium finish. — Agencies