India set up a title clash with Australia in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup field hockey tournament with an easy 6-1 win over the hosts Malaysia. In the last round-robin league encounter yesterday, the Indians needed an outright win to leapfrog New Zealand into second spot in the standings to make it to the final. New Zealand and Malaysia will now fight it out for the third place in the seven-team event.
India made their intentions clear quite early by scoring their first goal in the third minute of the first quarter. Once the floodgates opened, the rampaging Indians found the net with ease at regular intervals.
By the end of the second quarter, India were comfortably leading 4-0. They added another goal in the third quarter, but Malaysia pulled one back to make it 5-1. India’s last goal came in the final quarter. India have won the Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy five times and finished with a bronze medal last year.
