It was a much closer contest than they would have bargained for. But the Indian men's hockey team were up to the task in the crunch moments, as captain Harmanpreet Singh's 59th-minute penalty stroke handed them a nervy but crucial 3-2 win over New Zealand in Pool B of Paris Olympic Games 2024 on Saturday, July 27. (Highlights | Full Olympics Coverage | More Sports News)
The match swung like a pendulum from start to finish, with the Black Sticks drawing first blood via a penalty corner-conversion from Sam Lane in the eighth minute. The Indians bounced back to draw level in the 24th minute through Mandeep Singh, who scored from a rebound off a penalty corner.
They then took the lead through Vivek Sagar Prasad in the third quarter, with a contentious field goal that withstood a referral owing to lack of evidence to the contrary as the ball was deemed to have just crossed the goal line.
New Zealand, however, drew level in the 53rd minute through a penalty corner conversion from Simon Child. But skipper Harmanpreet ensured the win for India, scoring from a penalty stroke just over a minute from the hooter.
India will play Argentina in their next Pool B match on July 29, followed by Ireland on July 30 and Belgium on August 1.
