Waalwijk (Netherlands), Aug 14:
The Indian Men’s Hockey team has defeated hosts Netherlands 4-3 in a thrilling encounter here at the Robo Super Series, part of India’s tour of Europe.
It was double goals by Manpreet Singh in the 30th and 44th minute of the match, Varun Kumar’s 17th minute goal and Harjeet Singh’s 49th minute brace that helped India beat the Dutch late last night, who had a great build-up to the series with a 7-1 win over Germany last week.
Though India made a strong start with forward Ramandeep Singh finding an early chance to score, his attempt went slightly wide. Soon after, Netherlands drew first blood when they won a PC in the fifth minute. The drag flick, however, found the foot of skipper Manpreet Singh resulting in a re-award which subsequently went into a penalty stroke. Mink van der Weerden broke no sweat in putting the ball past India goalkeeper Akash Chikte to give the Dutch a 1-0 lead.
India got over the early jitters with a strong display, largely controlling the midfield led by Manpreet who showcased top quality skill and stick work. The attacking approach helped with India finding a PC opportunity in the 17th minute.
Junior World Cup hero Varun Kumar successfully beat Dutch goalkeeper to equalize the score. Though the Netherlands earned a PC soon after, the effort was tactfully saved by India goalkeeper. (UNI)
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