Firstpost Spodcast Episode 94: India's 2-2 draw against Belgium in Hockey World Cup, Liverpool's win over Everton and more

Let’s take a quick look at the sporting headlines making the rounds right here on Spodcast, your sports update on Firstpost. On this day, the 3rd of December in 1989, Stefan Edberg of Sweden claimed his first and only ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis title with a 4–6, 7–6, 6–3, 6–1 win over defending champion Boris Becker at the Madison Square Garden in New York. Welcome to Spodcast, your daily sports podcast from Firstpost. On Sunday, hosts India held Olympic silver medallists Belgium to a 2-2 draw with a spirited effort in the 2018 men’s Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneshwar. Pegged back by Alexander Hendrickx’ goal in the eighth minute, India made a valiant comeback after the change of ends scoring two goals in the third and fourth quarter through Harmanpreet Singh in the 39th minute, and Simranjeet Singh in the 47th, to take the lead. But the hosts’ defence faltered in the final minutes and conceded a late goal when Simon Gougnard scored in the 56th minute to draw level. The draw, however, enabled World No 5 India to take the top spot in Pool C ahead of Belgium on goal difference. Both teams have a win and a draw from two outings. India skipper Virat Kohli says he is now more assured of himself than on the last tour in Australia and does not feel the need to get involved in any confrontation with the Australians in the upcoming Test series. Virat Kohli was involved in sledging war with the Australians in the previous tour but the India captain says he has learnt from his past experience and does not expect any such incident happening during the series. In an interview with ‘Macquarie Sports Radio’, Kohli, who is known for his on-field aggressive temperament said, “I think from last time round, I’ve become more assured of myself, I don’t really find the need to prove anything to anyone. In the early stage of my career I used to think of these things as important milestones which are really important in one’s career, but now the focus is purely and solely on making the team win at any cost. So … I don’t find the need to get involved in anything with the opposition and I think those are changes that keep happening gradually as you go forward,” he said. In Premier League Football news, hosts Liverpool beat Everton 1-0 on Sunday to stay in touch with Premier League leaders Manchester City, with Divock Origi’s freak injury-time winning goal, in a thrilling Merseyside derby. Jurgen Klopp apologised on TV afterwards for his celebrations after Origi, making his first Premier League appearance since August 2017, scored the decisive 96th-minute goal. The German manager sprinted onto the field, running beyond the centre circle, while numerous coaching staff and substitutes headed towards the Kop to join Liverpool players celebrating with supporters. At the other end of Anfield, Everton supporters threw blue flares onto the field, another incident that will likely bring FA action. In the Senior National Wrestling Championships at Gond, Uttar Pradesh, seasoned Amit Dhankar showed that he still has enough left in his tank by emerging champion in the 74kg event, mixing his aggressive tactics with solid defence en route to his seventh National title in the men’s freestyle competition. Dhankar, former Asian and Commonwealth Champion, whose international career never took off due to the presence of Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt in his category, is still competing in a category which is owned by two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, who skipped the Nationals. Dhankar said he feels ready to replace Sushil. And finally, some Kabaddi news to round up today’s Spodcast, as we take a look into the happenings at the Pro Kabaddi Season XI in New Delhi on Sunday. An impressive defensive show by U Mumba saw them beat Gujarat Fortunegiants 36-26 in a top-of-the-table clash. This was U Mumba’s first-ever win over Gujarat Fortunegiants in the history of Pro Kabaddi League. The architects of U Mumba’s famous victory were veteran Dharmaraj Cherlathan with 6 points, and Rohit Rana with 5.