CUP TO INDIA

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33794, 17 March 1975, Page 28

CUP TO INDIA

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

KUALA LUMPUR. India, with a storming second - half recovery, took the gold medal in the third World Cup hockey tournament by beating the favourite, Pakistan, 2-1 in an exciting final in Kuala Lumpur. India, outplayed and trailing by one goal at half-time, made a fighting rally after the interval to edge their long-stancfing hockey rival for the world crown by a disputed goal. This was Pakistan’s first

defeat in the tournament, which it had hitherto dominated with a succession of brilliant performances after an uncertain start. India thus succeeded in taking the one major hockey honour which had eluded it so far, having been a semi- ! finalist at the first tournament in Barcelona in 1971 and beaten finalist in the second tournament in Amsterdam in 1973. This was the first match between these two Asian hockey giants in the third World Cup tournament. The win was the fifth Indian victory since 1956, while Pakistan has won six times with one match drawn. After the match the entire Indian team threw their hockey sticks and jerseys to their wildly cheering fans in the stands in gratitude for their support. The gold trophy was presented to the Indian captain, Ajit Pal Singh, by the Malaysian Prime Minister (Tun Abdul Razak) before he formally closed the 12-nation tournament. India, stormed back with two second-half goals by ; Surjit and Ashok Kumar in a final packed with all the action, incident, and conI troversy generally expected of a clash between these two major rivals. BRONZE MEDAL West Germany took the bronze medal by beating Malaysia 4-0 in the play-off for third and fourth places. The final standings are India 1, Pakistan 2, West Germany 3, Malaysia 4, Australia 5, England 6, New Zealand 7, Spain 8, Netherlands 9, Poland 10, Argentina 11, Ghana 12. The first six teams automatically qualify for the 1976 Olympics.