Gagan Ajit strikes twice as India humble Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: India survived some anxious moments before romping home to a 5-2 victory over hosts Malaysia in the 15th Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament at the Bukit Jalil Stadium here on Monday.

Leading 3-0 by the 39th minute in the Pool A match, India stumbled to let in two goals before regaining their composure and registering a convincing win in their second match of the eight-nation tournament. Hari Prasad (13th minute), Gagan Ajit Singh (22nd, 56th), Sandeep Singh (39th) and Tushar Khandekar (54th) scored for the Indians who had lost their opener to Australia 4-1.

The Malaysians, showing some spirit, scored through Azlan Misron (44th) and Jiwa Mohan (47th) but wasted five of the six penalty corners they earned. Earlier in the day, Korea upset Olympic champions and holders Australia 3-0 in a Pool A match.

The Koreans scored thrice in the first-half with Jang Jon Hyun converting two penalty corners (17th, 23rd minutes) and Kang Seong Jung sweeping home a Seo Jeong Ho pass in the 19th. The Aussies paid dearly for their complacency and with three goals in arrears, left themselves far too much to do in the second session.

In the India-Malaysia match, the first-half clearly belonged to the Indians who survived an early attempt by Chua

Later in the day, Pakistan sizzled with pace and precision to post a 3-2 win over the Netherlands. Rehan Butt (5th), Imran Warsi (20th) and Shakeel Abbasi (24th) struck for Pakistan while Floris Evers (15th) and Roderick Weusthof (70th) scored for the Dutch.