Hockey World League semis: India face familiar foes Malaysia in quarter-finals
India have been drawn against Malaysia in the quarter-final of the Hockey World League (HWL) semis. India finished their pool at second position winning their matches against France and Poland, drew with arch-rivals Pakistan and finally ending their league stage matches by getting thrashed to world ranking leaders Australia.
Whereas Malaysia ended their group stage with a 3rd place by winning against China and Ireland, then losing their last two matches against Belgium and Great Britain.
India and Malaysia have met each other on many occasions in the past. A total of 102 matches had been played between the two sides. India have dominated the meeting with 70 wins to their name, with Malaysia winning just 14 times and other 18 matches ended in a draw.
Malaysia have earned 8 cards through their 4 players and are expected to play a physical game against the skillful Indian side. India, on the other hand, won’t take this game lightly as their recent defeat to the same opposition will be still fresh in their minds.
World Ranking
India: 9th
Malaysia: 12th
Squad
India
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Harjot Singh
Defenders: Manpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Jasjit Singh Kular, Gurmail Singh
Halfbacks (Midfielders): Gurbaj Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Sardar Singh(C), Chinglensana Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Devindar Walmiki, Rupinder Pal Singh
Forwards: SV Sunil, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Yuvraj Walmiki, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Satbir Singh
Malaysia
Goalkeepers: Roslan Jamaluddin, Hafizuddin Othman
Defenders: Sukri Mutalib, Razie Rahim(C), Izad Jamaluddin, Azlan Misron
Halfbacks (Midfielders): Marhan Jalil, Sukri Mutalib, Nabil Noor, Izwan Firdaus Ahmad Tajuddin, Faiz Jali, Shahrun Abdullah,
Forwards: Faizal Saari, Firhan Ashari, Tengku Ahmad, Shahril Saabah, Baljit Singh, Azuan Hasan
Key Players
Ramandeep Singh
The Indian forward is India’s highest goal scorer in the campaign with 4 goals to his name. He scored the last-gasp winner against the French to give India 3 crucial points, which helped the team to finish ahead of Pakistan in Pool A.
He continued his good run and scored an important brace against Pakistan to take his tally to 3 goals in the tournament. Against the mighty Australia, he found the back of the net late on in the game.
With him taking charge of the goals, India will need him to continue his goal rush and condemn the Malaysian side to the 5th - 8th places.
Sardar Singh
The Indian skipper has taken all the midfield responsibility by himself and executing it to great effect. The Haryana-based player can create great goal-scoring opportunities for his forwards and even can help the defence in blunting down the opposition attacks.
He even scored a brace against the same opposition when they met earlier this year in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Razie Rahim
The Malaysian captain plays at the heart of the defence in the Malaysian team. He is also the penalty corner specialist in the side and has already proved his worth by converting 2 penalty corners in the campaign.
For Malaysia to have any chance against the Indians, they want their captain to lead from the front.
Saari Faizal
This prolific Malaysian forward has been relatively quiet in this years HWL. With just one goal to his name, he would want to increase his tally in order to help his team qualify for the semi-finals. The striker has good skills and speed that can trouble the Indian defence.
However, he has a brilliant record against the Indians. In the last two matches played between the two sides, Saari has found the back of the net 3 times. India will be up against a familiar foe in Saari and would want to keep him quiet if they harbour hopes of reaching the semis.
Recent head to head
India holds the edge against their well-known opponents if we consider the last 5 meetings between them with India leading 2-1. Malaysia had beaten India in the most recent encounter in the 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup with the scoreline reading 3-2. Sardar Singh scored a brace for the Indians.
Before that, the two sides met in the 2013 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, where the match ended as a 2-2 draw. In the same tournament in 2012, India won the match 3-2 and finished 3rd in the tournament, where Sardar Singh was awarded the ‘Best Player’ of the tournament.
India demolished Malaysia 5-2 when these two sides met a year earlier in the Azlan Shah Cup, but finished 5th in the tournament whereas Malaysia finished 7th that season. In the same year, the two sides met in Champions trophy, where they played out a 2-2 draw.
Overall, India and Malaysia have played each other 102 times with India emerging victorious on 70 occasions while Malaysia won 14 encounters.
Form Guide
India: L-D-W-W-W
Malaysia: L-L-W-W-L
Prediction
It is going to be a good contest between the teams who know each other quite well, but India has the pace and skill set to win this contest.
I am going for: India 3-1 Malaysia
The match will be telecast LIVE on Star Sports on 1st July at 21:30 IST.