 "Hockey World Cup 2023: India solve Spain challenge with fiery start and determined defending")
India and Spain met four times last year with the European team winning twice and drawing once in normal time. So the fact the current Spanish side is least experienced in the ongoing FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 mattered for very little. The fact that a team is ranked lower than the other has always mattered for little in a World Cup. From the outset, it was known that India would be up against a tricky opponent in the opener as the Harmanpreet Singh-led side looks to break the 48-year jinx of not reaching the semi-finals of a World Cup. It’s games like these that test your character besides the skills. The fact that it was being played in a jam-packed Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela where over 20,000 people had poured in to cheer the hosts, only made the task a bit more daunting. In that regard, Team India, coached by Australian veteran Graham Reid, deserves full marks for how they took control of the game at the start. The first few minutes though did not belong to any of the team but as the minutes passed by in the first quarter, India, egged on by the boisterous crowd in the hockey-loving Sundargarh district, came into their own and seized the opportunities.
#HockeyWorldCup:
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 13, 2023
🇮🇳 IND 2:0 ESP 🇪🇸
India beat Spain 2-0 in their opening Pool D match in Rourkela. #HockeyIndia | #HWC2023 | #HockeyWorldCup2023 pic.twitter.com/mo2uaGmPvK
Blazing start It took 11 minutes for India to find their first penalty corner (PC) after a long scoop from Hardik Singh found Shamsher inside the circle whose cross was later deflected by a defender. Jarmanpreet Singh failed to convert that but just in the next minute another PC came and this time local lad Amit Rohidas buried the ball back in the net on a rebound to give India the lead. This was India’s 200th goal in the tournament. The early pressure from the Indian players, the quick ball movement and the overloading of the circle finally paid off. It was all India in the second quarter as well but the finishing never came. In the end, it was another inspiring move from Hardik that helped India score. With some brilliant midfield work, Hardik stole the ball close to the middle of the pitch, beat four defenders with his immaculate dribbling and scored in the 26th minute as a Spanish defender deflected his cross to Lalit Upadhyay into the box. All the goals of the 2-0 win had come even before the second half had started. It was this fiery start that helped India make a winning start to the campaign. And a fiery start was important to lay down the marker; to help the team calm the nerves for what was to come in the second half.
Here are the standings after the first day of FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela.#IndiaKaGame #HockeyIndia #StarsBecomeLegends #HWC2023 @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @Media_SAI @IndiaSports pic.twitter.com/nfNoKdN7V7
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 13, 2023
Resolute defending In between all these, India goalkeeper Krishan Pathak, who came on in the second quarter in place of PR Sreejesh, made a good save to keep out a Pau Cunill PC in the 24th minute. India finished the first half with 17 circle penetrations, one out of three PCs converted and 75% possession. The story of the second half was a little different though. Under pressure, Spain started to build more attacking opportunities as India continued to squander their chances. Harmanpreet failed to convert a penalty stroke and also forced two PCs wide in the third quarter. “Sure, I couldn’t convert the PCs and in addition missed a penalty stroke. But it surely was a part of the sport and I must neglect this and transfer forward and deal with the subsequent match," Harmanpreet said after the match. The biggest defensive test came for India in the last quarter when Abhishek was given a yellow card for a tackle that looked clean. India were down to 10 men and had to defend like that for 10 minutes in the final quarter. This allowed Spain to bump up their attacking stats. They made 14 circle penetrations in the second half with most of them coming in the final quarter. The visitors earned two PCs as well in the final quarter but it wasn’t enough to breach the resolute Indian defence.
Indian captain @13harmanpreet speaks to us after his team earned an impressive 2-0 win against recent rivals Spain. #HWC2023 @TheHockeyIndia pic.twitter.com/ITH4ZnR3Ak
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) January 13, 2023
Defending for India has been their thorn in the flesh. Among the top teams in FIH Pro League in the last two seasons, India have conceded the most goals. On Friday though, they looked unbeatable. “We did practice of playing with 10 men as we thought at some point in the tournament we are going to play with 10 men. It was good. We got in front a lot today and that was very important. We were first with the ball and that makes a lot of difference in these sort of games," coach Reid said after the match. “What is pleasing today is one the defensive effort and the second we handle the ball very well. There were not too many people who did not play well. That is what you need to win a World Cup. We need to continue it in the next game.” A massive positive for India was that they won the game despite goals not coming from their main source Harmanpreet, who was the top goal-scorer of the 2021-22 Pro League. On the flip side, Reid would hope his captain finds his scoring touch as soon as possible as bigger tests await. India had a brilliant day as a defensive unit, something that the coach branded as their best since the Tokyo Olympics and that means a lot. India will next play England in their second Pool D match on Sunday. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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