Ipoh (Malaysia), Mar 9:
India’s hopes of a podium finish were dashed as they squandered lead on two occasions and went down 2-3 to Ireland in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament here today.
Having grabbed the lead on two occasions (1-0 in the 10th minute and 2-1 in the 26th minute), the Indian men’s team fumbled in the end in their last round-robin match.
Ramandeep Singh (10′) and Amit Rohidas (26′) scored for India while Shane O’Donoghue (24′), Sean Murray (36′) and Lee Cole (42′) struck for Ireland.
After rekindling their hopes of making the final with a convincing 5-1 win against Malaysia in their previous match, India looked for another win on the trot and got off to a start that reflected their intent.
Playing structured and disciplined hockey, India won a penalty corner in the 10th minute. Varun Kumar was at the first battery but it was Ramandeep who came up with a great finish to direct the flick into the net with a tap after he had injected the ball perfectly for the dragflicker. (PTI)
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