Bahru, Johor At the Sultan of Johor Cup here on Tuesday, the undefeated Indian junior men’s hockey team easily defeated hosts Malaysia 4-2, recording their third straight victory. India now leads the points table with nine points after this victory, followed by New Zealand in second position with five points and Australia in third place with four points.

India won thanks to goals from Sharda Nand Tiwari (11′), Arshdeep Singh (13′), Talem Priyobarta (39′), and Rohit (40′), whereas Malaysia won thanks to goals from Muhammad Danish Aiman (8′) and Harris Osman (9′).

In reality, Malaysia, the hosts, got off to a fast start by putting India behind early in the game. In the eighth minute of the game, Muhammad Danish Aiman scored a beautiful field goal after their captain, Muhammad Addy Jazmi Jamlus, set up a quick-fire goal. When Osman Harris scored from a PC in the next minute, they increased their advantage.

India suffered a setback as Malaysia took a 2-0 lead, but their strikers recovered quickly and produced scoring chances. With a flawlessly completed PC in the eleventh minute, India’s first goal was assisted by in-form drag-flicker Sharda Nand Tiwari.

In the 13th minute, Arshdeep Singh and Manmeet Singh scored beautiful field goal to give India the lead. Although there was no goal in the second quarter, there was a lot of activity in the third quarter as India came out from halftime with a more aggressive effort.

Talem Priyobarta’s successful attempt on goal from the outside of the circle in the 39th minute gave them a slim 3-2 lead for the first time throughout the game. Later, Rohit used a brilliant PC assault to increase the score to 4-2.

Malaysia started the fourth quarter with a PC, but they didn’t meet expectations. Both Malaysia and India won a flurry of PCs in the minutes that followed, but neither country was able to successfully convert.

India performed well, however, to maintain their 4-2 advantage till the very end and maintain their top spot in the standings.