Hockey: India hammer Ireland 4-1 to finish fifth in Azlan Shah Cup

Indian players celebrate a goal against Ireland on Saturday

Defensive lines were kept tight, the midfield showed spunk and Varun Kumar arrived in the tournament with two goals as India rose to the challenge to beat Ireland 4-1 to finish fifth in the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey tournament.

Friday's 2-3 defeat to the Irish was swept away as a bad day as Indian coach Sjoerd Marijne said, "We spoke to the team and explained the mistakes and I am happy that they responded with a win." For India, the scorers were Varun Kumar (5th, 22nd), Shilanand Lakra (32nd) and Gurjant Singh (37th).

Ireland pulled one back late in the 4th quarter when Julian Dale scored in the 48th minute. The Indian coach was happy with the way the team responded. "We cannot do anything about the first match against Ireland," he said. "But I am glad they kept the errors down and played strongly."

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates