India lost to Australia 1-4 in their opening encounter of the 15th Azlan Shah hockey tournament at the Bukit Zalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
KUALA LUMPUR: India put up a shoddy display to be outplayed 1-4 by Olympic champions and holders Australia in their opening game of the 15th Azlan Shah hockey tournament at the Bukit Zalil Stadium here on Sunday.
The Indians failed miserably to bank on the chances and conceded easy openings to the Aussies, thereby losing momentum early in the match. Troy Elder (6th minute), Matt Naylor (11th and 41st) and Luke Doerner (62nd) scripted the Australian onslaught while Tejbir Singh (22nd) provided some sort of consolation to the Indians.
India’s deep defense, marred by poor marking, was exposed in the initial moments of the game with Elder and Naylor’s incisive right wing moves.
Both the scorers were left unmarked inside the circle and it was much the same when Naylor scored the third goal for Australia after the change of ends. The result would have been different had Arjun Halappa scored from close in the 4th minute following a right wing counter attack.
India managed to get the upper hand midway through the first half when Australia were reduced to 10 men following a yellow card suspension of skipper Brent Livermore. Immediately after, India pulled one back through Tejbir, who put home a loose ball from penalty corner.
Early in the second half, Australia virtually clinched the issue when Naylor shot home for a 3-1 lead. India wasted one of their best chances when star striker Gagan Ajit Singh failed to connect a cross from Halappa in the 42nd minute. The match was held up for about 20 minutes following heavy downpour. On resumption, Australia extended their dominance and closed the match by striking their fourth goal from a penalty corner minutes before the final hooter. In their next outing tomorrow, India will take on hosts Malaysia.
New Zealand erased a two-goal deficit to beat Argentina 3-2 and register their first win earlier in the day. Argentina had raced to a 2-0 lead but couldn’t sustain the pace in the second half, giving ample space to the Kiwis who managed a remarkable turnaround, pumping in three goals to give them a winning start to their campaign. Argentina scored through Matias Damian Vila who flicked in both their goals in the third and 28th minute.
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