KUALA LUMPUR: Winless Malaysia crumbled after a strong start, blowing a two-goal lead to lose 4-2 against India in their Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup (SoJC) clash at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru today.
The defeat was Malaysia's third straight loss.
Malaysia had earlier lost 3-2 to New Zealand and 4-1 to Japan.
Ranked No. 11 in the world junior rankings, Malaysia now face an uphill battle to salvage pride, with crucial matches against world No. 13 Great Britain tomorrow and No. 8 Australia on Friday.
Coach I. Vickneswaran said: "My boys played well to score two early goals.
"However, they allowed India to fight back.
"The players need to learn how to manage their decisions on the pitch.
"We can expect another tough and physical match against Britain tomorrow, but we will be ready for them."
Despite India's dominance in the tournament, it was Malaysia who stunned the favourites early on. Danish Aiman Khairil Anuar opened the scoring after just eight minutes with a close-range strike before Harris Iskandar Osman made it 2-0 a minute later with a well-taken penalty corner.
However, Malaysia's joy was short-lived as India hit back quickly. Tiwari Sharda Nand and Arshdeep Singh equalised within two minutes, levelling the score at 2-2 by the 13th minute.
India continued their relentless pressure in the second half, sealing the win with goals from Talem Priyobarta (39th minute) and Rohit (40th).
Malaysia had six penalty corners but only managed to convert one, while India capitalised on two of their seven opportunities.
Results: Japan 1 Australia 5, New Zealand 1 Great Britain 1, Malaysia 2 India 4.
Tomorrow's fixtures: New Zealand v Japan (4pm), Australia v India (6.15pm), Britain v Malaysia (8.35pm).
* All matches at Taman Daya Stadium, JB.