India hold nerve, beat Belgium to avenge last week’s defeats
HAMILTON, NEWZEALAND: The Indian hockey team produced a spirited perfomance to upstage world No.3 Belgium 5-4 in its second match of the Four Nations Tournament’s second leg. India had earlier lost 1-2 to Belgium in the final of the first leg but held their nerve till the final hooter to come up with a winner in this hightempo, high-speed match. Rupinderpal Singh (4’, 42’), Harmanpreet Singh (46’), Lalit Upadhyay (53’) and Dilpreet Singh (59’) scored in India’s win while JohnJohn Dohmen (17’), Felix Denayer (37’), Alexander Hendrickx (45’) and Tom Boon (56’) scored for Belgium.
India began the match with disciplined structure, playing two-touch hockey to rotate the ball swiftly and accurately to pave their way into Belgium’s striking circle. The effort paid off early when Vivek Sagar Prasad made a quick penetration from left flank forcing Belgian defender to foul which resulted in the first penalty corner.
It was in-form Rupinder Pal Singh, who stepped up for the drag flick, improvising on Lalit Upadhyay’s injection to fiercely put the ball into the top net. The early 1-0 lead undoubtedly put the Belgians on the backfoot.
HARYANA IN PWL FINAL
NEW DELHI: Haryana Hammers defeated UP Dangal 5-4 in a key contest to set up a mouth-watering clash against Punjab Royals in the final of the Pro Wrestling League. Sun Yanan won the ninth and deciding bout, her third straight win over Vinesh Phogat to throw UP out.
GURDEEP’S RECORD LIFT
DHAKA: Gurdeep Singh busted three national records en route his gold medal in the +105kg cetagory on the final day of the National Weightlifting.
LAXMAN WINS TITLE
CHENNAI: Indian Grandmaster RR Laxman, with eight points, emerged champion on better tie-break score after the tenth and final round of the 10th Chennai Open International chess.
ANAND BEATS JONES
DUBAI: World rapid champion Viswanathan Anand outclassed Gawain Jones of England and moved to fifth spot after the end of the 10th round of Tata Steel Chess. With his third victory in the event, Anand came back within striking distance of the leaders. His tally of six points out of ten is only one point less than the leaders’.