Hangzhou, 26th September 2023: Indian Men’s Hockey Team on Tuesday picked up their second consecutive victory at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, defeating Singapore 16-1 in Pool A match. In the match, Indian Men’s Hockey Team forward Abhishek, who was named in the starting XI, also completed his 50 International Caps. India Captain Harmanpreet Singh (24′, 39′, 40′, 42′) scored four goals, while Mandeep Singh (12′, 30′, 51′) scored a hat-trick. Abhishek (51′, 52′), and Varun Kumar (55′, 55′) scored a brace each, while Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (16′), Gurjant Singh (22′), Vivek Sagar Prasad (23′), Manpreet Singh (37′), and Shamsher Singh (38′), also scored a goal each for India. Zaki Zulkarnain (53′) scored the sole goal for Singapore.
~ Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Harmanpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Abhishek, Varun Kumar scored goals for India in the match ~
Attacking from left to right to start the match, skipper Harmanpreet Singh made long passes inside the striking circle to test Singapore’s defence. India’s quick movements with the ball troubled the opposition, but Singapore defended in numbers to keep India at bay. Singapore goalkeeper Sandran Gugan made a crucial save after Harmanpreet Singh struck a powerful hit on target from a penalty corner. Mandeep Singh (12′) finally broke the deadlock after picking a pass from Gurjant Singh and pushing the ball into the nets to make it 1-0 for India at the end of the first quarter.
India doubled their lead straight into the second quarter, with Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (16′) striking the ball into the nets, after receiving a sublime pass from Sukhjeet Singh. The floodgates were opened as India hammered three quick goals in three minutes. First, it was Gurjant Singh (22′) who tapped the ball into the net after receiving a pass from Mandeep Singh. A minute later, Vivek Sagar Prasad (23′) also deflected it into the nets with a soft touch, and then Harmanpreet Singh (24′) opened up his goals tally, scoring from a Penalty Corner to make it 5-0. A fantastic variation in the Penalty Corner allowed Mandeep Singh (30′) to get his second goal of the match late in the quarter, and India went into halftime with a 6-0 lead.
India continued to put pressure at the start of the third quarter, playing deep in Singapore’s half. Singapore mounted a dangerous attack of their own but were stopped in their tracks by Jarmanpreet Singh. Manpreet Singh (37′) made the most of another variation in the Penalty Corner, as he deflected the ball into the nets to make it 7-0 for India. A minute later, Shamsher Singh (38′) made a powerful strike to extend India’s lead to 8-0. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh (39′, 40′, 42′) showcased his supreme form with the flicks as he converted three consecutive Penalty Corners to make it 11-0 for India to end the third quarter.
Singapore started pushing deep in their own half to prevent India from creating any more attacks in the final quarter. Dribbling past the Singaporean defence, Mandeep Singh (51′) pushed the ball into the nets to complete his hat-trick and made it 12-0 for India. Abhishek (51′, 52′) scored twice in two minutes, making the most of errors from Singapore defenders. A surprise counter-attack from Singapore led to Zaki Zulkarnain (53′) scoring a goal for his team. Varun Kumar (55′, 55′) added his name to the scoresheet, scoring twice from Penalty Corners as India won the match 16-1.
Indian Men’s Hockey Team will next face off against Japan on Thursday, September 28th, 2023 at 1815 hrs IST.
Schedule of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team:
On 28th September 2023, India Vs Japan at 1815 hrs IST
On 30th September 2023, India Vs Pakistan at 1815 hrs IST
On 2nd October 2023, India Vs Bangladesh at 1315 hrs IST
The matches will be broadcast live on Sony Sports Network and live stream on Sony Liv.
HOCKEY INDIA TEAM PARTNERS
Odisha (India’s Best Kept Secret) – Major Team Partner
Sports Authority of India (SAI)
Shiv Naresh
About HOCKEY INDIA
HOCKEY INDIA (HI) is the governing body with exclusive mandate to direct and conduct all activities for both men and women’s hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Hockey India was established on 20th May, 2009 and is affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF).
Committed to the development of Hockey in the country, Hockey India with the assistance of Sports Authority of India and Department of Sports, Government of India, trains players at sub-junior, junior and senior level. The governing body engages in Coaching the coaches with International Standard certification programs, educates and equips technical officials and umpires to find a foothold in international arena, provides world-class infrastructure and International exposure for the players besides regular international competition. Hockey India has also pioneered in bringing top International hockey events to India such as the FIH Men’s World Cup in 2010 and 2018, FIH Champions Trophy in 2014, FIH Junior Men’s World Cup in 2016 and 2021, FIH Hockey World League Final in 2017. With its vision to popularize the game and constantly promote it, Hockey India brought the Indian Men’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world. Hockey India is also dedicated to getting the Indian Women’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world.
About ODISHA
Odisha – the Eastern State of India – is known for its love for Hockey and over the years it has evolved to be the Global Hub of Hockey. The State successfully hosted the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, followed by the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha, FIH Olympic Qualifiers Odisha, and FIH Hockey Pro League 2020-21. Odisha has previously hosted the Champions Trophy 2014 and the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017. Odisha also hosted the FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup in 2021.
Kalinga Lancers, the team owned by the State, were the winners in the Hockey India League 2017. Taking a step further towards realising the dream of restoring the glory of Indian Hockey at the global level, the State is sponsoring the Indian Hockey Teams till 2033.
Odisha also hosted the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023.
