Hockey World Cup: The Indian men’s hockey team won 2-0 against the Spanish squad on Friday to kick off the 2023 World Cup in grand fashion. Amit Rohidas, an Indian defender, opened the scoring for the hosts with a penalty corner goal in the 12th minute. Midfielder Hardik Singh then doubled India’s advantage with an on-field goal in the 26th minute. The Indian team finished second in Pool D, and coach Graham Reid is happy with his team’s work.
Coach Reid stressed that the squad needed to keep moving forward in order to have a chance of winning the championship.
The boys were successful in removing the ball from the goal. The start was promising. It’s fantastic to have the first game completed, and now that it is, we can concentrate on the next contest. Today’s defensive effort and our excellent ball handling are satisfying, in that order. There weren’t many players who weren’t really good. You require something to win the World Cup. After the game, Reid remarked, “We need to carry it over into the next game.
Abhishek was suspended for the last quarter, leaving the Indian side with just 10 players on the field. Reid also clarified the fact that the team has practised on the field with 10 players. “We practised playing with 10 men since we anticipated doing so at some time during the competition. It was great. Today, we were in the spotlight quite a bit, and that was crucial. We had the ball first, which is very important in these kind of games “Added Reid.
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India’s second goal was scored by Hardik Singh in the second quarter, giving his team a good chance to win.
In the third period, neither team managed to score a goal, with India preserving its lead and Spain failing to capitalise on penalty corners. Abhishek received a 10-minute punishment when the game entered the fourth quarter. This did not, however, alter Spain’s fate because they also missed a goal in the last period.
Four groups of 16 teams each have a team competing in the competition. With Wales, England, Spain, and India put in pool D. India has waited 47 years for the World Cup trophy. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, they last took home the Hockey World Cup trophy in 1975.
