- Saturday, November 23, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
EIGHT-TIME hockey gold winners India were off to a flying start at the Tokyo Olympics as they beat New Zealand 3-2 by coming from behind in their opening game in Pool A of men’s hockey at the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday (24).
Harmanpreet Singh scored two goals for India while Rupinder Pal Singh scored the third and their efforts was backed by goalkeeper P R Sreejesh, who stood like a rock in the closing minutes to deny the Kiwis a chance to equalise.
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Harmanpreet’s goals came in the 26th and 33rd minutes after Rupinder helped India draw level in the 10th minute. Mandeep Singh drew attention for his energetic show upfront and the penalty corner he earned was utilised by Rupinder to score his goal.
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For New Zealand, who are currently ranked eighth as against their fourth-ranked Asian opponents, Kane Russell gave an early lead by scoring from a penalty corner. Stephen Jenness scored New Zealand’s second goal in the 43rd minute to reduce the gap.
India will next play Australia, the world No.1 team, who beat hosts Japan 5-3 in their opening game at Tokyo. In the first match in Pool B, Belgium, who won the silver at the Rio Games in 2016, beat the Netherlands 3-1.
