Mumbai: Opening matches of World Cups across any team sport can be tricky.
After a period of some leeway for combination and tactical experiments to “build on to” the tournament that matters, as head coach Craig Fulton put it ahead of India’s curtain-raiser, there is little room left for slip-ups.
Against an opposition that sought crowdfunding to turn up at hockey’s biggest showpiece, India dished out a relatively solid 3-1 victory in Pool D with all three goals coming from penalty corners (PC) at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands on the inaugural day.
“In our next game, we need to show more, we need to create more chances and score some field goals as well,” said Harmanpreet.
At the 2023 World Cup at home, India crashed out before the quarter-finals with just four goals from their off-colour leader. That the 30-year-old got half that number one contest into the 2026 edition is a good sign. So is someone other than Harmanpreet stepping up to convert a PC, as 25-year-old Sanjay did in the 8th minute when the captain wasn’t on the field.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh got into his elements on it, scoring twice with his dragflicks in the 11th and 43rd minute. Harmanpreet’s form often mirrors India’s fortunes in high-stakes tournaments. “As a team, we played well, the way we managed the ball and the opportunities we created in the circle… overall, it was pretty much a good game. India converted three of the five PCs they earned (one went wide from Harmanpreet and the other was mis-trapped). For this team built on solid defence and counterattacks, set-pieces become important, but Fulton would perhaps have liked a field goal in his best-case scenario for the opener. And a clean sheet, which Sam Welsh ensured did not happen with a 56th-minute goal after a melee around Indian custodian Mohith HS and the added confusion of the umpire dropping his whistle. As India earned their first PC halfway into the quarter and Sanjay’s flick squeezed through the legs of Welsh goalkeeper Toby Reynolds-Cotterill, it opened the set-piece floodgates. Harmanpreet was all too happy to break in. Both his flicks went past the left of Reynolds-Cotterill, the second flatter and faster. India had some moments around it, like Jarmanpreet Singh’s long-range shot and brilliant individual defensive skills under intense pressure in the first quarter. Wales got more compact in the second half, and also cashed in on India’s otherwise strong defence faltering just a touch in the closing stages.
“I am very happy that one of the youngsters scored a goal, especially on dragflick,” Harmanpreet told FIH after the game.
