FIH Hockey Pro League: India end South Africa campaign on winning note
The Indian men's hockey team bounced back to winning ways by beating South Africa 10-2 in their fourth match of the FIH Hockey Pro League. The win comes after India suffered a shock 2-5 defeat against France in their earlier match.
Drag flick specialist Harmanpreet Singh scored four goals (36', 52', 60', 60') while Shilanand Lakra scored a brace (27', 48') to put India in the driver's seat. Surender Kumar (15'), Mandeep Singh (28'), Sumit (45') and Shamsher Singh (56') scored the other goals for India.
The win helped India end their South African sojourn on a winning note.
For South Africa, Daniel Bell (12') and Connor Beauchamp (53') found the back of the net.
High-intensity hockey
Both teams displayed high-intensity hockey, offering some thrilling moments for hockey buffs. It was India who were quick to create a scoring opportunity through a PC in the very first minute of the game. However, ace dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh's drive was well blocked by the South African defenders.
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Five minutes later, the South African defenders fashioned a similar block when Jugraj Singh took the drag, hoping to fetch India an early 1-0 lead.
The hosts, however, did not miss an opportunity to convert when the Cassiem brothers worked on their skills to earn South Africa their first PC of the match.
In a re-take, Daniel Bell struck a fine goal to put his team ahead by 1-0 in the 12th minute. India, on the other hand, were quick to reply when Surender Kumar pumped a brilliant field goal in the 15th minute.
While South Africa showed great intent in the second quarter, working towards regaining the lead, an alert Indian defense kept them from scoring. In the 24th minute, experienced Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh came up with a fine save when South Africa were awarded a PC.
In the following minutes, Shilanand Lakra scored from a good assist by Shamsher Singh. Mandeep Singh then scored India's third goal and put his team ahead by a comfortable 3-1 margin.
Both teams attack at will
After the 10-minute half-time break, South Africa bounced back with some potent attacking play. They mounted pressure when a penalty stroke was awarded after an Indian infringement, but Krishan Pathak made a brilliant save to deny the hosts an opportunity to narrow the lead down to 2-3.
In the following minutes, Pathak braved a flurry of shots on goal by South African attackers, not allowing any room for a goal.
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While South Africa continued to dominate with ball possession, they did not succeed in converting it into goals. India, in the meantime, scored through Harmanpreet Singh's drag-fick in the 36th minute and followed it up with a goal from Sumit that put them ahead 5-1.
They amassed five more goals in the final quarter through Lakra (48'), Harmanpreet Singh (52', 60', 60') and Shamsher Singh (56').
South Africa did score through a penalty corner, well-converted by Connor Beauchamp, in the 53rd minute. However, they couldn't stop India from ending their campaign with a 10-2 win on board.
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