India loses to Great Britain in Sultan of Johor Cup final

Indian junior men's hockey team lost the Sultan of Johor Cup final 1-2 to Great Britain on Saturday at Johor Bahru.

The Indian junior men's hockey team for the Sultan of Johor Cup 2019.

Indian junior hockey men's team lost a second consecutive final to Great Britian in the Sultan of Johor Cup as it succumbed to a 1-2 loss at Johor Bahru on Saturday.

After the first three quarters of the match went goalless, Indian forward Gursahibjit Singh broke the deadlock in the 49th minute with a goal from a penalty corner. However, Britian struck back through Stuart Rushmere's dragflick in the 50th minute.

In the dying seconds of the match, Rushmere then scored the crucial second goal as Britain bagged its second title in as many years.

India dominated the proceedings in the first two quarters and created a flurry of chances as Maninder Singh, Sudeep, Dilpreet Singh and Gursahibjit Singh went close to scoring the opener. Britain's goalkeepers James Mazarelo and Oliver Payne were up to the task as they made several smart saves to keep the deadlock intact at half-time.

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The third quarter was more or less the same as India forced the play while Britain defended deep to play on the counter. India won its fifth and sixth penalty corners of the match, but was unable to find a way past Mazarelo.

In the 49th minute, India won its seventh penalty corner and broke the deadlock as Gursahibjit deflected Maninder's variation into the net. However, Great Britain struck back from its first penalty corner of the game through Stuart Rushmere. The game looked headed towards a shootout but Stuart Rushmere slotted home a clearance from goalkeeper Sanjay in the final minute to give Great Britain the title.

In 2018, India lost 4-3 to Britain in the penalty shootout after the teams were tied 2-2 after regulation time.