Ipoh (Malaysia), May 28: Five-time champions India squandered chances galore to slump to a 2-3 defeat against Great Britain in the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here yesterday.

Playing a brisk game, India failed to capitalise on several opening created by their strikers, faltering in the final execution on numerous occasion.

After bouncing back from a two-goal deficit to draw parity, India gave it away through a defensive lapse in the 62nd minute when three defenders were beaten on top of the circle by a through ball that Nick Catlin picked up to score Great Britain's match-winner.

Great Britain earlier scored two goals through penalty corners from Glen Kirkham (28th minute) and Ben Hawes (43rd). But India struck back to score twice in the space of four minutes through a penalty corner conversion from VR Raghunath (55th) and a dazzling deflection by SV Sunil (59th) to make a stunning return to the match.

With this win, Great Britain moved into the second position with four points from two matches, behind New Zealand who clinched their third successive victory by defeating Pakistan 3-1 earlier in the day.

Last year's losing finalists Pakistan have three points from two outings, while India have slipped to the fifth spot with three points from as many matches. India's points came from a 2-1 victory over South Korea, while they lost 1-5 to New Zealand in their tournament opener.

Against Great Britain today India started on a brisk pace and held the ball early on but wasted several chances. In the third minute, Sunil failed to capitalise on Tushar Khandekar's cross from the right.

PTI