Ipoh (Malaysia): India produced an inspiring performance to outplay hosts Malaysia 6-1 in a must-win match and secure their seventh appearance in the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, here on Friday
Needing a victory in their last round-robin league fixture to qualify for tomorrow’s title clash, five-time winners India stamped their authority on the hosts to finish ahead of defending champions New Zealand in the standings.
India’s opponents in the title encounter on Saturday will be reigning world champions Australia, who on Friday prevailed 3-0 over Canada to complete an all-win record in the preliminary league.
Australia finished with the maximum 18 points from six outings, followed by India on 12 points and New Zealand on 11 points. Australia have won this title a record eight times and were losing finalists to the Black Sticks last year, when India earned a bronze.
S.V. Sunil (2nd minute), Harjeet Singh (7th), Ramandeep Singh (25th and 39th), Danish Mujtaba (27th) and Talwinder Singh (50th) were India’s scorers.
