Two minutes later, the in-form Sunil had an attempt blocked by the foot of the Malaysian goalkeeper Mohammad Hairi. Two goals each from Thomas Craig and Matt Ghodes gave Australia a 4-0 win in the final of the tournament. A victory over India will draw them level with New Zealand’s points tally.
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India’s journey to the final has seen many ups and downs with India losing 1-5 to Australia in the league stage.
The Black Sticks will play Malaysia for the bronze medal. But Aussie goalie produced a stunning save to deny Harmanpreet Singh’s powerful drive. The second quarter, however, went goalless as India failed to convert its penalty corner chances. India last won the tournament in 2010, their fifth title, when they were jointly declared winners with South Korea. But the ball kissed the stick of runner Manpreet Singh and changed its line and rocketed into the goal, leaving Harjot stranded and frustrated.
“I’m happy that the team played strongly and applied pressure. Now we need to focus on the final”.
“Yes we did lose by a big margin, but the scoreline is a bit harsh”. “Before the start of this match though, we were calm and it showed in our game”.
In the 52nd minute, Chandana Thimmaiah had a good look at the goal and had only the custodian to beat, but his directionless shot simply did not cause any trouble.
India fielded an experimental team in the six-nation tournament, that was their first worldwide competition in the build-up to the Rio Olympic Games in August. “I’m disappointed with the early goals, but the boys fought hard”, said Van Huizen.
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The game began with a relatively quiet first quarter, with both teams failing to convert opportunities to goals.
