Johor Bahru, Malaysia, 29 October 2017: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team beat hosts Malaysia 4-0 in the Bronze medal match of the 7th Sultan of Johor Cup 2017 at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium here today. Goals from Vishal Antil (15’, 25’), Vivek Prasad (11’) and Shilanand Lakra (21’) were enough for India to finish their tournament with the Bronze medal.

India had earlier finished third in the points table with 9 points after winning three and losing two of the round robin matches. The team started the match on a bright note as they attacked the Malaysian defense in the initial stages of the first quarter. The Indian team seemed to have put aside the disappointment of failing to qualify for the final, as they produced some marvellous skills to stamp their authority on the match. It was in the 11th minute when that captain Vivek Prasad scored when Maninder Singh provided him with the assist from the right flank. India extended their lead four minutes later when a precise long pass from Dilpreet Singh was picked up by Shilanand Lakra inside the circle, and the forward made a turn and passed the ball to Vishal Antil who then scored with a cool finish to make it 2-0 in India’ favour at the end of first quarter.

The second quarter had a similar story for the Indians as they dominated the possession and were rewarded for their spirited display when they scored a third goal through Shilanand Lakra, who tapped in a pass by captain Vivek Prasad in the 21st minute. India’s attacking force was in prime form as they struck yet again in the 25th minute when Dilpreet Singh got his second assist of the match as he found Vishal Antil inside the circle with a calculated through ball, which was put into the back of the net by the latter to give their team an impressive 4-0 lead going into half-time.

Malaysia had to step up in the last two quarters if they were to make a comeback into the match, but India’s defence was resolute and did not allow the hosts to get a route back into the match. India’s Goalkeeper Senthamizh Shankar was in fine form as he made several saves to deny the Malaysians. In the end, it was a complete performance from the Indian side who dominated in every aspect of their game in the Bronze medal match to win by 4-0.