Sultan of Johor Cup: Indian hockey team held Pakistan to 3-3 draw in a thrilling match. Loktej Sports News

Johor Bahru, 27 October (HIST). Defending champions Indian junior men’s hockey team made a spectacular comeback from two goals down to hold rivals Pakistan to a 3-3 draw in a thrilling opening match of the Sultan of Johor Cup here on Friday. Amandeep Lakra (30′), Aditya Arjun Lalage (56′) and Uttam Singh (59′) scored for India, while Arbaaz Ahmed (31′, 58′) and Abdul Shahid (49′) scored for Pakistan. Scored goals.

It took time for both the teams to overcome the initial jitters and settle into the game, the first big chance to score came to the Indian team’s forward Angad Bir Singh in the 12th minute. But his shot went past the goal post. Even though neither team came with a powerful offensive formation in the first quarter, both teams defended well.

In the second quarter, Pakistan made a strong start with PC in the opening minutes. But India defended well. In the next few minutes, India earned a few chances in the circle, but could not convert them. Just seconds before the half-time hooter, dragflicker Amandeep Lakra scored to give India a much-needed 1-0 lead.

However, returning to the field after a 10-minute half-time break, Pakistan equalized through Arbaaz Ahmed’s penalty in the 31st minute. However, apart from this goal, no other goal was scored in this third quarter.

The final quarter started with a 1-1 tie. Captain Abdul Shahid scored a goal in the 49th minute of the match to increase Pakistan’s lead to 2-1. Five minutes before the end of the match, India got a penalty and Aditya Arjun converted it to give India a 2-2 draw.

Just three minutes before the final hooter, Pakistan took a 3-2 lead thanks to a penalty goal by Arbaaz Ahmed. However, in the 59th minute, captain Uttam Singh scored a brilliant field goal to level the score at 3-3 and forced Pakistan to share the points.