The Indian Men’s Hockey Team on Sunday dug deep to eke out a win against Netherlands in the FIH Pro League. The Indian team held on to their nerves to win the tie from a penalty shootout after the regulation time produced a 2-2 draw.
Both teams started the match well with match being an end-to-end affair. India broke the deadlock in the 13th minute. Hardik Singh’s outstanding effort was what swung the balance in favour of India. To score his tenth goal for his country, Hardik stole the ball from the Indian half and worked with Sukhjeet Singh. Hardik led the charge in their quick counterattack, eventually putting the ball into the net from a tight angle.
Netherlands eventually drew level just before half-time, with Janssen scoring from a penalty corner. After an initial save by Indian goalie Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Koen Bijen capitalized on a rebound to give the Netherlands the lead during a penalty corner in the third quarter.
India exerted a lot of pressure in the last few minutes despite trailing, earning several penalty corners but failing to convert. Just before the final whistle, Harmanpreet, however, leveled the scores and sent the match into a shoot-out.
Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh played a pivotal role as he made three crucial saves in the shoot-out. India’s captain Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, and Shamsher Singh all successfully scored against the Dutch to take home the victory.
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