Azlan Shah hockey: India hold Australia 1-1

Updated on: 09 May,2011 08:52 AM IST |
IANS |

India held Australia to a 1-1 draw in the Azlan Shah Cup men's field hockey tournament here yesterday

India held Australia to a 1-1 draw in the Azlan Shah Cup men's field hockey tournament here yesterday.

Australia scored through Jacob Whetton in the 14th minute while Rupinder Pal Singh was again India's saviour and converted a penalty corner to draw parity in the 20th minute.

India lost their first match against South Korea 2-3 and beat Britain 3-1 in the second match. They play hosts Malaysia today and take on Asian Games champion Pakistan on Wednesday.

World and Olympic champions Australia have come with an inexperienced side in the tournament with several senior players like Jamie Dwyer, Des Abbot, Rob Hammond, Mark Knowles Luke Doerner missing either due to injuries or club commitments.

The second-string Australian side kept the Indian defence under relentless pressure throughout the match with their fast paced moves and counter-attacks.

Australia had routed India 8-0 in the Commonwealth Games final in Delhi in October.

India managed well to escape with a draw. Goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza again played an important role in thwarting the well-constructed moves and Dhananjay Mahadik did a good job in the defence and also made a goal line save.