India’s young hockey team displayed remarkable resilience and composure to secure a thrilling 3-3 draw against New Zealand in their final round-robin match at the Sultan of Johor Cup on Friday. The result leaves India’s fate in the hands of other teams as they await the outcome of Great Britain and Australia’s matches against Japan and Malaysia, respectively.
India started the match brightly, taking an early lead through Gurjot Singh’s fine goal in the 6th minute. Gurjot’s second attempt on goal, assisted by Sukhvinder, proved successful as he lofted the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net. India had a chance to extend their lead in the 8th minute with two back-to-back penalty corners, but the New Zealand goalkeeper produced outstanding saves to deny them.
New Zealand gradually grew into the game and created an attacking formation that helped them make a successful foray into the striking circle. However, Rosan Kujur’s sharp defense kept them from scoring. In the 17th minute, New Zealand’s Jonty Elmes equalized with a fine field goal. India responded quickly, with Rohit striking from a penalty corner to regain the lead.
Both teams played with frantic speed and intensity, with India creating a flurry of penalty corners towards the end of the second quarter. However, they were unable to find success. To their dismay, New Zealand began the third quarter with a fine penalty corner conversion by Elmes, who had struck for the second time. Elmes’ fierce power in his drag-flick was a pain-point for Indian defense, as he completed a hat-trick of goals in the 45th minute to take New Zealand 3-2 ahead.
India’s problems with penalty corner conversion continued in the fourth quarter as they missed a chance in the 46th minute. New Zealand, on the other hand, came up with brilliant counter attacks in the following minutes, but Indian defense held sway. With 90 seconds left on the clock, India found a golden opportunity to equalize when they earned a penalty corner. This time, they found success with a splendid variation which was executed to perfection by Talem Priyobarta, ending the thrilling encounter with a 3-3 draw.
