Paris Olympics: India kicked off their hockey campaign with a closely fought win over New Zealand in the Group B match at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Saturday. A late penalty stroke from captain Harmanpreet Singh proved to be the saviour of the Tokyo Bronze medallists as they edged past the Black Sticks by 3-2.
Harmanpreet scored the winner for India to put them back in the lead. He converted a penalty stroke in the dying moments of the game. Harmanpreet went to the left of the goalkeeper Dixon Dominic, who also went the correct way but the stroke eluded him.
Earlier, New Zealand drew the first blood with Sam Lane scoring the first goal through a penalty corner in the eighth minute. India equalized in the second quarter on the back of a Mandeep goal from a rebound on a penalty corner.
India took the lead for the first time in the 34th minute when midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad scored from the field. The goal was under a bit of scrutiny as New Zealand players protested that the ball had not gone past the white line of goal. The TV umpire took a look at the goal and deemed it to be a legal one as he did not have conclusive evidence to overrule it.
India were a bit sloppy in the field at several times, especially with the possession. They would have to take care of it. Had it not been a late winner from the skipper, India would have had to settle for a draw.
In the other two matches of Group B, Australia defeated Argentina 1-0 with a Govers Blake strike in the second quarter of the match. Belgium overpowered Ireland in their opener 2-0 win. Boon Tom put Belgium 1-0 up when he scored a goal in the 25th minute before HENDRICKX Alexander doubled it up with a 49th-minute strike.
India now face Argentina in their second match on July 29 at 4:15 PM IST.
