Indian players celebrate their 6-1 win over hosts Malaysia in their final round-robin match in the Azlan Shah hockey tournament in Ipoh on Friday. (Photo: AFP)
Indian players celebrate their 6-1 win over hosts Malaysia in their final round-robin match in the Azlan Shah hockey tournament in Ipoh on Friday. (Photo: AFP)
India produced an inspiring performance to outplay hosts Malaysia 6-1 in a must-win match and secure their seventh appearance in the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, here on Friday.
Needing a victory in their last round-robin league fixture to qualify for Saturday’s title clash, five-time winners India stamped their authority on the hosts to finish ahead of defending champions New Zealand in the standings.
India will face reigning world champions Australia in the final, who prevailed 3-0 over Canada to complete an all-win record in the preliminary league.
Australia finished with the maximum 18 points from six outings, followed by India on 12 points and New Zealand on 11 points.
Nikkin Thimmaiah (2nd minute), Harjeet Singh (7th), Ramandeep Singh (25th, 39th), Danish Mujtaba (27th) and Talwinder Singh (50th) scored for India, while Shahril Saabah (46th) pulled off a consolation goal for Malaysia.
India’s last appearance in the final of the Azlan Shah Cup was in 2010, when they shared the title with South Korea after torrential showers flooded the ground.
Watching the India-Malaysia contest from the sideslines were New Zealand, who will now face hosts Malaysia for the bronze medal on Saturday.
Malaysia needed a seven-goal victory to edge ahead of New Zealand in the standings, but they went out seeking to avenge their loss to India in the Hockey World League semi-finals that cost them qualifications for the Olympic Games. Malaysia’s last victory over India was in last year’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup here, when the home side posted a 3-2 victory.
“I am pleased to see the energy of the boys. That’s what you want to see as a coach,” said India coach Roelant Oltmans. “The finals are always special. I want to test and see what our boys will do tomorrow,” said Oltmans. “Playing the final against Australia is a great opportunity for us.”
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