Hockey World Cup 2023: Team India gets off to a flying start, beats Spain by 2-0 in the opener

Hockey World Cup 2023: India's FIH Hockey world Cup campaign has gotten off to a strong start with a victory against Spain in the opening game on Friday. Since Amit Rohidas scored the first goal for the men in blue in the first quarter, they have been in a commanding position. Even though Spain had an advantage at first because to a higher percentage of possession than India, Team India quickly grabbed the initiative and quickly turned the tide, winning the match 2-0.

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India gets off to a flying start in Hockey World Cup 2023

In the second quarter, Hardik Singh scored India's second goal, giving them a good chance to win. In the third period, neither team managed to score a goal, with Spain failing to capitalise on penalty corners while India maintained its advantage. Abhishek received a 10-minute ban during the fourth quarter of the game. Spain's destiny was unaffected by this, though, since they also missed a goal in the last period.

The event consists of 16 teams, which are split into 4 groups. India, England, Spain, and Wales are all grouped in pool D. For 48 years, India has been anticipating the World Cup trophy. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1975, they last won the Hockey World Cup championship. After this, the Men in blue lost their opportunity to win any trophies in this international competition.

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When is India's next match?

The next game for India is scheduled for January 15 at Rourkela versus England. In contrast, Wales will play Spain on the same day as India's encounter.

Squad:

India: Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Abhishek, Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Krishan Pathak, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, PR Sreejesh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Varun Kumar, Akashdeep Singh, Amit Rohidas (vice-captain), Vivek Sagar Prasad and Sukhjeet Singh.

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