Australia pulls off thrilling victory against India in FIH Pro League!

- Anjali Ankad 

 

Bhubaneshwar, 21 February: Making its debut in the second season of FIH Pro League, the Indian Men's Hockey team has turned the tables over in the final quarter of the game and made it to a thrilling one after having a shaky start. Though fighting hard till the last second of the game against the title holders Australia, it went down 3-4 in this tournament here on Friday.

 

The Australian men were really aggressive and dominating in the first, second and third quarters with 4-1 with the help of Dylan Wotherspoon (6th minute), Tom Wickham, Lachlan Sharp, and Jacob Anderson. They sucked the momentum of India since the beginning of the game and did not let the hosts score goals except the goal which came from Rajkumar Pal in the third quarter.

 

However, India bounced back with its powerful performance in the last quarter. Pal, the new boy, once again added another goal in his kit, scoring the second goal for India with a stunning field goal making it 4-2 in the 47th minute. Shortly after that, Rupinder Singh perfectly executed the penalty corner with a drag-flick which pulled India to one more goal going into the last few minutes. Singh had a golden chance to convert this match into draw due to a penalty corner but went wide of the target giving the Aussie all the three points.

Overall, the defence unit of the Aussies played a major role in dismissing India's efforts to score the goal. Australia being ruthless since the start made it difficult for India to gain momentum in the middle. Nevertheless, India produced a spirited comeback changing the one-sided game to a thrilling one before the final hooter.

 

The Indian skipper Manpreet Singh showing his dissatisfaction he said, "I think we are quite disappointed because we didn't start well, conceding three goals. In the fourth quarter, we came back and actually played our game, and because of that, we scored two goals. I think we didn't create many chances in the first three quarters but in the last quarter we did, so we need to come back [strong] for tomorrow's match."

 

India had earlier claimed five points by winning against Belgium and another three points with a stunning victory over Belgium, the reigning World and European champions placing India at fifth position in the table. There is one more game to go against Australia today on 22 February.