Sticks men lively in opening loss
India repelled a late flurry from New Zealand to triumph 3-2 in a tense men’s hockey match yesterday.
It was a quality showing from the Kiwis against the team expected to be one of their biggest tests in pool play, with world No 4 India having enough success defensively to stifle most of New Zealand’s attacks.
The Indian side had goalkeeper Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran to thank for closing out the game, as he made several good saves in the final quarter to keep his side in front and secure victory.
It didn’t start that way, however. The Black Sticks took the lead after seeing off some early pressure, with Kane Russell converting a penalty corner six minutes into the contest.
The lead was short-lived, however. India continued to apply pressure on the New Zealand goal, and broke through for a penalty corner of their own, with Rupinder Pal Singh firing past Kiwi goalkeeper Leon Hayward.
With the scores level after the opening quarter, India continued to ask questions of their Kiwi counterparts, and hit the front through Harmanpreet Singh just before halftime.
Singh was in again soon after play resumed to give India a two-goal buffer, but from there, it was the Indian defence that had questions to answer.
The Black Sticks pushed up looking to close the gap, and did — again from a penalty corner — with Stephen Jenness beating Raveendran towards the end of the quarter.
The New Zealanders had the better of the attacking opportunities in the final period, working some good shots, both in open play and from penalty corners.
However, they were unable to get another shot past the stick of Raveendran, who made three important saves in the final minutes — the last with less than 30 seconds remaining.
While beaten in their opening fixture, the Black Sticks impressed with strong defence and were largely able to match the Indians.
They play world No 9 Spain today, then Japan (Tuesday), Australia (Wednesday) and Argentina (Friday), with the group’s top four teams qualifying for Sunday’s quarter-finals.