Jasjit Singh turned out to be the hero for India against Malaysia in their quarterfinal match, as the team in blue were looking down the barrel at the start of the fourth quarter. The score read 2-1 then in favour of Malaysia in the Hockey World League. However, Jasjit scored two brilliant drag flicks in the 49th and the 56th minutes of the game to seal the game for India and also secure a semifinal berth against Belgium on Friday.
Earlier in the match, Malaysia were a tough nut to crack as their defence stood firm against India's attack. India had taken a 1-0 lead in the first quarter, but after which the Malaysians began to press India's defence, which was also making some silly mistakes, resulting in easy turnovers.
Malaysia took advantage of the weak Indian defence and converted their penalty corners. India failed to charge quickly to pressurise the Malaysian drag flickers during the penalty corners, hence they had ample time to fire in shots with some venom.
India were also not able to cope with the pace of some of the Malaysian players.
Despite India's win, coach Paul van Ass must be aware of India's defense, which still has not been able to contain their opponents. India must be thankful to PR Sreejesh, who has had a good tournament and has often rescued his defenders with his agility and quick reflexes.
India have only enjoyed one clean sheet in the entire tournament, so when Sardar Singh's men face Belgium in the semifinal, the Indian defence needs to raise their game to another level against the hosts, who scored 12 goals in the group stages and another 5 against France in the quarterfinals.
With Belgium expected to enjoy great home support, the Indian team have a huge task at hand.
Watch India vs Malaysia highlights below
