Colts win bronze medal

Johor Bahru (Malaysia), Oct 29
The Indian junior men’s hockey team thrashed hosts Malaysia 4-0 to claim the bronze medal at the 7th Sultan of Johor Cup here today.
Vishal Antil (15th and 25th minutes) scored a brace, while Vivek Prasad (11th) and Shilanand Lakra (21st) got one each.
India put aside the disappointment of failing to qualify for the final as they came out attacking from the start. Captain Prasad scored the opener, deflecting in Maninder Singh’s cross from the right flank.
India extended their lead four minutes later when Dilpreet Singh picked out Lakra with a long diagonal pass inside the circle. Lakra couldn’t make a clean stop but did well to hold the ball despite pressure from two defenders, before passing it to Antil who scored with a cool finish. India continued to press forward and were rewarded when a fast counterattack resulted in Lakra deflecting in Prasad’s pass.
India’s top-scorer Dilpreet couldn’t find his scoring touch but created another goal. He got the ball at the centreline in the left field. Despite his back to the opposition’s goal, the 18-year-old swivelled around one Malaysian player, dodged past another before finding a reverse-stick pass to Antil at the top of the circle. Antil smashed the ball into the net.
Australia defend title
Australia emulated India as they became only the second team to win back-to-back titles after beating Great Britain 2-0 in the final. Australia avenged their pool-stage loss to Britain. They were the more dominant side today, nullifying Britain, who had come into the final unbeaten.
Joel Rintala scored the opener from a penalty corner before Nathan Ephraums doubled Australia’s lead just after the halftime. Ephraums took his tally to nine goals, finishing as the tournament’s top-scorer, alongside Dilpreet.