The Indian junior men's hockey team suffered its first defeat in the ongoing Sultan of Johor Cup, going down to Australia 2-4 in a pool match in Johor, Malaysia on Wednesday.
Captain Rohit (22nd minute) and Arshdeep Singh (60th minute) scored for India while Oscar Sproule (39th, 42nd), Andrew Patrick (40th) and captain Dylan Downey (51st) were on target for Australia.
India are placed second with seven points from four games, having won two, drawn one and lost a game. Australia are leading the table with 10 points from four outings.
India dominated possession in the first quarter after some early hiccups. A brilliant save by Prince Deep Singh in the initial moments was followed by India hardly putting a foot wrong in the first 15 minutes.
The second quarter saw India win the first penalty corner in the 17th minute but Anmol Ekka's flick had too much power and went over the post.
In the 22nd minute, India won another penalty corner but this time it was successfully converted by the team's leading goalscorer Rohit with a low strike.
Amir Ali came close to extending the lead in the 25th minute after making a strong solo run from the left. He took a shot from distance which was saved by the Australian goalkeeper.
Australia turned the tide in the third quarter with three back-to-back goals to take a lead.
The first goal came in the 39th minute as Australia launched a great move from the right to find an unmarked Oscar Sproule on the far post, who tucked it into the net to equalise.
A minute later, Australia took the lead when a deflection during a penalty corner fell perfectly for Andrew Patrick, who made no mistake in finding the back of the net.
Moments later, Sproule scored his second goal, this time with a powerful back-handed strike in front of goal.
India won a penalty corner in the 49th minute but this time, Rohit's flick went off-target.
Two minutes later, Australia won their fifth penalty corner and captain Dylan Downey stepped up to slot it home to further embellish their lead.
In the final minute, Arshdeep Singh made a skilful deflection to score India's second goal of the evening.
India will next play Malaysia on October 17.
