Same old script 038; result

Three duds in a row. That8217;s what will be worrying India chief coach Rajinder Singh Jr as he boards the team bus home for the last time ...

Three duds in a row. That8217;s what will be worrying India chief coach Rajinder Singh Jr as he boards the team bus home for the last time from Chennai8217;s Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium. Indian hockey fans have cause for fretting too.

The Indians played for the first time under Rajinder Singh at Malaysia8217;s Sultan Azlan Shah tournament in May this year and finished at the bottom of the table at the seven-nation tournament.

The next big tournament they played under him was Amstelveen8217;s Rabo Bank eight-nation tournament. After struggling throughout the competition, India finished seventh. In the Champions Trophy, India lost 3-4 to Pakistan in the classification match to finish an abysmal sixth.

8220;I8217;ve never got an opportunity to work with the same set of boys,8221; Singh reasoned. 8220;There were as many as eight changes in the squad before we embarked for the Rabo Bank tournament. A few more changes were made in the squad for the Champions Trophy,8221; he said.

India, who had beaten Pakistan 3-2 in the round-robin league earlier, were leading 2-1 at the time of going into the breather. Deep defender Kanwalpreet Singh had put the hosts ahead as early as in the second with a crisp short corner conversion.

Deepak Thakur, who was the culprit in India8217;s defeat against Holland on Friday, swelled the lead in the 14th minute. But Pakistan pulled one back just one minute before going into the breather through Imran Muhammad through a short corner conversion.

After the change of ends, it was a total Pakistan domination. 8220;It was heartening to see the Pakistanis regroup,8221; said former Pakistan coach Tahir Zaman.

Story continues below this ad

Three minutes into the second half, Ali Akhtar drew parity for Pakistan. India then conceded a stroke when a goalboud reverse hit by Shakeel Abbasi crashed into Kanwalpreet Singh8217;s legs. The umpire signaled at the spot, and skipper Mohammed Saqlain did the needful.

Rehan Butt who has a knack of scoring in the dying minutes against India, put Pakistan ahead in the 62nd minute. Skipper Gagan Ajit kept India8217;s hopes alive with a 64th minute strike. Prabhjot Singh could8217;ve forced the match into an extra-time but he missed a sitter just two minutes from time. Pakistan eventually hung on to the one-goal cushion and finished ahead of India on the fifth position.

Aussies beat Dutch to lift Champions Trophy

Olympic gold medallists Austrlia dished out a disciplined performance to emerge 3-1 winners against Netherlands in the 27th edition of the Champions Trophy today. With the win, Australia are now at par with Germany to have won the prestigious tournament for a record eight times. For the winners, Mathew Wells, Liam de Young and Jamie Dwayer scored while for the Dutch, Taeke Taekama pulled one back.

For 3-4 positions: Spain 5 Santi Freixa 2, Alex Fabregas, Pol Amat 2 bt Germany 2 Moritz Furste, Matthias Witthaus.