Sloppy defending cost India dearly as it conceded a late goal to go down 1-2 against a higher-ranked New Zealand in its second league match of the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, here on Monday.
Despite enjoying better possession and ball control, the Indians paid the price for letting their guard down when put under pressure and succumbed to their first loss.
For New Zealand, it was its second straight victory in the six-nation tournament at the Azlan Shah Stadium.
After a barren opening half, New Zealand took the lead in the 38th minute through a field goal from skipper Simon Child before Andy Hayward (55th) converted a late penalty corner to hand India’s chief coach Paul van Ass his first defeat after taking charge of the team.
India’s lone goal came from the stick of striker Akashdeep Singh in the 43rd minute.
By virtue of this win, New Zealand has garnered maximum six points from two outings, while India has only one point from as many games.
After a day’s rest, India will play host Malaysia, New Zealand will face Canada and Australia will take on Korea on Wednesday.
The results:
New Zealand 2 (Simon Child 38, Andy Hayward 55) bt India 1 (Akashdeep Singh 43).
Australia 3 (Jamie Dwyer 43, 53, Dylan Wotherspoon 59) bt Malaysia 2 (Firhan Ashari 57, Tengku Ahmed 60).
Korea 3 (Seongkyu Kim 22, Hyunwoo Nam 27, Jonghyun Jang 54) bt Canada 1 (Richard Hildreth 11).
