The Indian Junior Men Hockey Team, featuring three players from Odisha, defeated Pakistan 6-5 via shootout (full time 3-3 draw) in the hard-fought 3rd/4th place match to clinch the Bronze medal in the 11th Sultan of Johar Cup U-21 International Tournament in Johor Bahru, Malaysia today.

India played the bronze-medal match after losing to Germany in the semifinals 3-6. Led by Uttam Singh, the 20-member Indian team qualified for the semifinals by winning two matches and drawing one in Pool-B league.

The three Odisha players in the Indian team were: Amandeep Lakra, Sunil Jojo and Sunit Lakra. Defender Amandeep Lakra put up impressive performance in the tournament, converting six penalty corners, including three against New Zealand.

INDIAN JUNIOR MEN HOCKEY TEAM: Goalkeepers: Mohith HS, Ranvijay Singh Yadav. Defenders: Amandeep Lakra, Rohit, Sunil Jojo, Sukhvinder, Amir Ali, Yogember Rawat. Midfielders: Vishnukant Singh, Poovanna CB, Rajinder Singh, Amandeep, Sunit Lakra, Abdul Ahad. Forwards: Uttam Singh, Arun Sahani, Aditya Lalage, Angad Bir Singh, Gurjot Singh, Sathish B. Coach: CR Kumar.

RESULTS:
October 27: India (Amandeep Lakra 30-PC, Aditya Arjun Lalage 56-PC, Uttam Singh 59-FG) drew with Pakistan (Arbaz Ahmad 31-PC, 58-PC, Abdul Shahid 49-FG) 3-3.

October 28: India (Aditya Arjun Lalage 28-FG, Amandeep Lakra 37-PC, Rohit 54-PC) beat Malaysia (Suhaimi Shahmie Irfan 13-PC) 3-1.

October 30: India (Amandeep Lakra 2-PC, 7-PC, 35-PC, Arun Sahani 12-FG, 53-PC, PB Chandura 52-PC) beat New Zealand (Luke Aldred 29-PC, 60-PC) 6-2.

November 3 (Semifinal): India (Amandeep Lakra 35-PC, Uttam Singh 58-FG, Rohit 60-PC) lost to Germany (Christian Franz 16-PC, Nikas Berendts 29-PC, 45-FG, Peer Hinrichs 43-FG, 48-PC, Florian Sperling 49-FG) 3-6.

November 4 (Bronze medal match): India (Arun Sahani 11-FG, PB Chandura 42-PC, Uttam Singh 52-FG) drew with Pakistan (Sufyan Khan 33-PC, Abdul Qayyum 50-FG, Ghazanfar Ali 57-PC) 3-3. Shootout: India (Angad Bir Singh, Vishnukant Singh, Uttam Singh, Angad Bir Singh, Raninder Singh, Vishnukant Singh) beat Pakistan (Arshad Liaqat, Ahtishm Aslam, Abdul Rehman, Hannan Shahid, Arshad Liaqat) 6-5.