India play out 3-3 draw against Pakistan in Sultan of Johor Cup

The Indian junior men’s hockey team played out a thrilling 3-3 draw against Pakistan in their third group-stage match of Sultan of Johor Cup here on Tuesday.

In a pulsating clash that swung both ways, India fought back from a two-goal deficit to take the lead, only for Pakistan to strike late and ensure the points were shared. The result also means that India are still undefeated in the tournament.

For India, Araijeet Singh Hundal (43’), Sourabh Anand Kushwaha (47’), Manmeet Singh (53’) netted the goals, while Pakistan struck through Hannan Shahid (5’) and Sufyan Khan (39’, 55’).

India made a bright start, dominating possession and making several early circle penetrations that kept Pakistan on the back foot.

Against the run of play, Pakistan hit back through a quick counterattack and earned a penalty stroke soon after.

Captain Shahid made no mistake, slotting the ball low to the goalkeeper’s right to give his team an early lead.

Pakistan then doubled their lead when Sufyan converted a penalty corner.

Refusing to back down, India continued to push forward and were rewarded late in the quarter.

With less than three minutes remaining, they earned a penalty stroke, which was confidently converted by Hundal to narrow the deficit.

Kushwaha then struck a superbly placed shot to level the score.

Confident after finding the equaliser, India switched to an aggressive, attacking approach that pushed Pakistan onto the back foot.

Their persistence paid off when Manmeet found the back of the net, giving India the lead for the first time in the match.

However, the advantage proved short-lived as Sufyan converted a penalty corner for second time in the match to restore parity.