Indian losses to Malaysia in the semi finals of Asian Games
An inspired Malaysia put the Reigning Champions the Indian Men’s Hockey Team out of contention for the Gold Medal after scoring a 7-6 win in the pressure-packed sudden death shootout here at the 18th Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang on Thursday. The Indian team fumbled twice to lose the lead in regulation time to end the 60 minutes play with a 2-2 draw. It was youngsters Harmanpreet Singh (33′) and Varun Kumar (40′) who had scored in regulation time for India while Faizal Saari (39′) and Rahim Muhammad Razie (59′) equalised for Malaysia and took the match into the shootout.
A tenacious Malaysian side kept the Defending Champions in the hunt right from the start. Though India’s attack was successful in earning the match’s first PC within two minutes of the match, Malaysian Goalkeeper Kumar Subramiam was a fortress — difficult to breach. He made a brilliant save off Harmanpreet Singh’s flick to keep India from taking an early lead. The following minutes saw both teams trade PCs thoroughly tested the two experienced goalkeepers Subramiam of Malaysia and PR Sreejesh of India. In the 6th minute, Malaysia tricked the Indian defence to beautifully execute a PC variation after an infringement by Indian defender Amit Rohidas saw India concede their first PC. The goal however, was disallowed after a smart call for video referral by India. The ball on being injected had brushed past the Malaysian drag-flicker Muhammad Shahril on the top of the circle before the variation was executed.
The match was evenly played out in the second quarter with both teams being on par with each other. An inspired Malaysia though proved to be a tough juggernaut to crack as they matched India’s high-speed game, rarely gave Indian attackers space in the circle while their defence held strong. India by the end of second quarter had taken six unsuccessful shots on goal, with one field goal attempt and five PCs while Malaysia had registered five shots on goal, four of which coming off PCs.
