Dark moment can’t stop india from making bright start

IPOH: Not even a piece of bad news before the game could stop India from getting off to a bright start in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament.

World No. 7 India took on world No. 16 Japan with a heavy heart when top forward Manpreet Singh learned that his father had passed away just four hours before the game. The player has returned home.

India’s Dutch coach Roelant Altmans said that they are likely to go through the tournament with a player short as the tournament rules state that no changes can be made after the team managers’ meeting.

Still, India managed to edge Japan 2-1 in their opening match at the Azlan Shah Stadium here yesterday.

Japan opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Kenji Kitazako’s drag flick beat Indian goalkeeper Harjot Singh.

India then earned a penalty corner in the 25th minute and specialist flicker Harmanpreet Singh slotted in the equaliser.

Seven minutes later, skipper Sardar Singh scored with a reverse hit from an acute angle for what turned out to be the match-winner for India.

Altmans admitted that they did not get off to a good start.

“We got better as the game progressed. We could have scored more goals, but we lacked penetration. Still, we should celebrate every win.”

Earlier, Pakistan pulled off an upset when they defeated Olympicbound Canada 3-1 in their opening tie.

The Pakistanis scored through Mohd Arslan Quadir (27th and 28th) and Mohd Arshad (52nd). Canada replied through Richard Hildreth (48th).

“It’s a good start ... it will motivate the younger players for the coming matches,” said Pakistan coach K.M. Junaid.

“This tournament is important for us to gauge our performance as we’re building for the future. Our target here is to improve and learn from the others.

“We have a tough match next against Australia. We hope to keep them at bay and pull off another surprise.”

Canadian coach Anthony Farry was not overly concerned with the result.

“It’s not the best start, but we did have our moments in the game. The first half wasn’t so good, but the second saw us playing with greater purpose. We haven’t played them for a long time ... about six years, I think ... but our main target is to prepare for the Rio Olympics,” he said.