India stuns New Zealand hockey team by 4-0; completes three-match series with whitewash

Bengaluru, July 23: The Indian Men’s Hockey Team on Sunday stunned New Zealand by 4-0 in the third match of three-match Test Series that was held at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru. Notably, India with this victory completed a series with whitewash. It was Rupinder Pal Singh, Mandeep Singh Surender Kumar and Akashdeep Singh scored for India.

 

Starting the match on aggressive mode, India took a 1-0 lead in the first quarter after Rupinder scored the goal with a low flick from the home team's second penalty corner, thus taking his personal goal count to four in the series.

Showcasing his tremendous moves, Surender scored from a field effort after receiving a clever assist from Rupinder from the top of the striking circle. Then Sardar Singh and Simranjeet Singh combined on the left flank to set up Mandeep for India's third goal in the 44th minute past New Zealand goalkeeper. Just before the final hooter, striker Akashdeep scored India’s fourth goal.

Indian coach Harendra Singh expressed satisfaction with his team's performance in the series ahead of the 18th Asian Games to be held in Indonesian twin cities of Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2.

He said, "Playing high-intensity matches against one of the top 10 teams in the world ahead of a crucial event like the Asian Games is beneficial for us. During these three matches, we tried out different combinations and variations in penalty corners and we are now better prepared for the upcoming tournament.”

"We had specifically worked on different variations in goal scoring but I believe the team still has scope to improve. We missed few easy chances today and need to work on this ahead of the Asian Games," he concluded.