Johor Bahru (Malaysia): Two back to back wins against Argentina and Malaysia has given the defending Champions, India, heaps of confidence ahead of their final league match against Australia in the ongoing 5th Sultan of Johor Cup. The annual event is being played in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and culminates on the 18th of October 2015.
The Indian Men’s Junior Team, who entered the championship as two time defending champions, started their campaign notching up a 5-1 win over arch rivals Pakistan. This was followed by a loss of 4-3 against an unbeaten team of Great Britain. So far the British team has been unbeaten with 2 wins and two draws to their kitty. The Indian colts followed up for this loss with a 3-2 win against the mighty Argentines. The youngsters raised their performance for the occasion keeping India’s chances alive to finish at the top of the table. A 2-1 win against Malaysia yesterday just ensured that team India is all set to defend the title for the third consecutive year.
This match on Saturday against the Australians is just the right preparation that these boys need before playing the tournament decider on Sunday, 18th October 2015. Australia’s campaign in this tournament has been rather unimpressive, managing just one win in the tournament so far. Their 4-4 draw yesterday against Great Britain yesterday must have given them just enough confidence to take up India who have already made it to the finals basis their win against Malaysia yesterday. Australia would be playing a must win match against India tomorrow to keep their hopes alive for a bronze medal in the tournament.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s game, Harendra Singh, Coach, Indian Men’s Junior Team said, “We are in a good position, and we are not taking it lightly. The boys are hungry to defend the championship title for the third consecutive year and they are not ready to let any moment go out of their hand. Our goals for and against are proof to our hunger to defend the title. Australia is a tough team and we are preparing hard to finish off our league matches on a winning note.”
“It’s an important match for us tomorrow as we take on the Australians in our last league match in the tournament. The Australians are really strong, and we cannot take them lightly. Sumit, Arman have scored fluently in the last few matches and the defence has also been at the top of their form, hence I am confident of a good performance from the team tomorrow,” said Harjeet Singh, Captain, Indian Men’s Junior Team, ahead of the game tomorrow.
The Indian team which has managed to score 13 goals in the tournament, the highest scored by any team so far, will be riding high on confidence with top scorers Sumit Kumar (3 goals) Armaan Qureshi (2 goals) and Harmanpreet Singh (2 goals). With a strong midfield being led by none other than Captain Harjeet Singh and defence by Vice-captain Dipsan Tirkey, team India is definitely upbeat about an impressive performance tomorrow.
India takes on Australia in the 5th Sultan of Johor Cup tomorrow, 17th October 2015 at 1605 hrs (IST) onwards.
