The Indian men's hockey team kicked off its South Africa tour on Monday (22 January) with a stunning 4-0 win against the hosts of Paris Olympics Games – France. While India's defence remained resolute with France unable to breach past the experience of PR Sreejesh and Krishan Pathak in the goalpost, India scored a flurry of goals backed by an excellent PC attack.
India's first goal came in the 13th minute through Harmanpreet Singh's exceptional drag-flick. He added to his team's scoreline in the 26th minute via a penalty corner, improving on his drag flick to score past the French goalie.
Interestingly, India's third goal too came off a brilliant penalty corner variation in which the team's experienced forward Lalit Upadhyay converted the goal in the 42nd minute.
In the 49th minute, experienced attacking midfielder and vice-captain Hardik Singh took India's lead to a formidable 4-0 through a finely executed field goal, ensuring his team registered a splendid win.
The week-long tournament features France, the Netherlands, India and hosts South Africa. On 24 January, India will face France in their second match, followed by a match against hosts South Africa on 26 January and a game against the Netherlands on 28 January.
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