Indian hockey team wins first match of European tour, beats Germany 6-1

KREFELD:

Playing their first international match in 12 months, the Indian men’s hockey team led by Captain P.R Sreejesh put up a scintillating show and routed Germany 6-1 on Sunday.

India’s goal scorers were Nilakanta Sharma (13’), Vivek Sagar Prasad (27’, 28’), Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (41’), Akashdeep Singh (42’), and Harmanpreet Singh (47’), who outplayed the hosts and led their team to a winning start on their first assignment of 2021.

The Indian team showed some exceptional skills from the very start and created opportunities for scoring at regular intervals.

India got the first penalty in the 13th minute of the first quarter, which saw midfielder Nilakanta Sharma convert it into a goal.

The Germans came back with an equaliser immediately in the first quarter but could not maintain the same momentum as the match progressed.

The Indian side was good in the defence department and displayed amazing counterattacking skills.

Vivek Sagar Prasad scored two back-to-back goals in the 27th and 28th minute, taking India’s lead to 3-1 at half-time.

In the third quarter, the hosts got six penalty corners, but they could not convert them into goals.

Indian forwards Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Akashdeep Singh scored brilliant goals in the 41st and 42nd minutes, giving India a 5-1 lead at the end of the third quarter.

In the 47th minute, Harmanpreet Singh scored again to end the match with 6-1.

India will play four matches in the European tour series against Germany and Great Britain.

(Edited by Shankar Kumar Turha)

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