The score was 1-1. There were 45 seconds for the final hooter. India earned a penalty corner. Imagine the kind of pressure on the young shoulders of Harmanpreet Singh.
But the Indian junior team was the defending champion for a reason. Singh, riding high on two consecutive hat-tricks against Malaysia and Australia, kept his calm and converted the corner to hand India a 2-1 over Great Britain in the fourth Sultan of Johor Cup final at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on Sunday. India, thus, defended their title, and became the first team to win the cup twice since its inception in 2011.
The game was evenly contested right from the start. Both India and Great Britain went on the attack, but some smart goalkeeping from both ends made sure none got the early advantage. Indian goalkeeper Abhinav Pandey, in particular, saved some crucial attempts from the Brit boys. The attacking style from both teams continued, but so did the deadlock, and the score remained 0-0 at the end of the first half.
The second half saw both teams upping the ante. India earned their first penalty corner in the 46th minute, and Singh made no mistake in converting it to give the defending champions the all-important lead. However, Great Britain struck 10 minutes later, courtesy another penalty corner conversation by Samuel French to make it 1-1.
Both teams then went all out for the winner, and just when it looked like the game was heading for a penalty shoot-out, Singh struck the golden goal.
"I feel elated with pride and joy to see this young brigade retaining the title. This team has shown immense potential to emerge as the one of the best teams in the world with the kind of class and dignity they have played with today (Sunday)," coach Harendra Singh said.
This title comes days after the senior men's team brought home the Asian Games gold medal.
Top scorer of the tournament: Harmanpreet Singh (9 goals)
Player of the tournament: Harmanpreet Singh
Most promising player of the tournament: Harjeet Singh
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