India begin their campaign with a 5-0 win over South Africa
Tommorow’s fixtures: On Friday, Argentina will take on Spain while New Zealand faces France in Group A matches.
Group C round up: The Hockey world started with two decisive matches in Group C with Olympics silver medallists Belgium fending off a late challenge from Canada to emerge 2-1 winners.
You can read the report of that match here.
Hosts India then gave the near capacity Kalinga stadium crowd a lot to cheer for as they hammered South Africa 5-0.
FULL TIME: India 5 South Africa 0: India were clearly a dominant side in the first match against South Africa. At half time, Harendra Singh wanted them to be more clinical after entering the striking circle and they did just that, scoring thrice in the second half.
More importantly, they did not give South Africa any chance to fight back. And every time the Africans managed to stitch together a few attacks, the Indian responded with fast paced counters to push them on the back-foot once again.
55th minute: India 5 South Africa 0: Chinglensana tries to get himself on the scoresheet on his 200th international match as he enters the striking circle and instead of passing the ball to Sumit takes a direct shot at goal. He almost beat the goalkeeper but the ball hits his pad and then the outside of the goal.
India’s vice captain Chinglensana Singh Kangujam hasn’t had much to do in this match but he would surely be enjoying his 200 international appearance for the country. Incidentally, his debut was also against South Africa.
Read the story here
48th minute: India 5 South Africa 0: India earns another penalty corner but Harmanpreet’s drag flick is saved.
GOAL: 46th minute: India 5 South Africa 0: India earn a penalty corner in their very first attack of the fourth quarter and though they fail to convert with a direct hit, Simranjeet Singh was there to intercept the rebound and score from a close distance.
END of third quarter: South Africa came up with a better showing in this quarter but India found two goals in the last three minutes and India have all but pocketed the three full points.
GOAL: 45th minute: India 4 South Africa 0: Lalit Upadhyay scores India’s fourth goal with a clean deflection off a pass from Akashdeep Singh.
GOAL: 43th minute: India 3 South Africa 0: India respond immediately to the penalty corner from South Africa and Mandeep Singh makes a darting run from the right and then cuts back to Simranjeet Singh who makes no mistake in slotting home the ball.
42nd minute: India 2 South Africa 0: South Africa earn their first penalty corner as the ball hits Amit Rohidas’s leg. India struggled to clear the ball after the initial drag flick is stopped but the Africans could not grab the opportunity.
41st minute: India 2 South Africa 0: South Africa beginning to show some purpose in their attack. They build a strong move from the right but could not sustain the pressure and the ball goes out of play.
34th minute: India 2 South Africa 0: Sumit shows good presence of mind to push the ball on South African defenders leg to earn India’s third penalty corner. But the ball isn’t trapped well and the opportunity goes begging.
At the half time chat, coach Harendra Singh says the team is not making the right decisions at the second post and because of that while they have dominated possession, they haven’t managed to score more goals. Will be see improvement in that department after a pep talk from the coach?
While the team regroups at the break you can enjoy the visuals of how the stadium erupted after Mandeep’s first goal
Here are the stats from the first half and India has clearly dominated in all areas.
HALF TIME: India 2 South Africa 0: India go into the break leading 2-0. Having pressed for goals in the first quarter the hosts were slightly more guarded in the second quarter as the South African’s sat deep looking for opportunities to counter. However, Manpreet Singh and Co. kept 66% possession and did not allow the opponent to get a toe hold in the match.
28th minute: India 2 South Africa 0: Neelkanta Singh plays a brilliant one-two to enter the South African striking circle from the left but cannot beat the goalkeeper.
24th minute: India 2 South Africa 0: Sreejesh forced into making his first save of the match after a defensive error but the Indian custodian had little trouble in palming off the ball. And India responds immediately with their counter attack but Manpreet Singh could not finish the move well.
19th minute: India 2 South Africa 0: India earn their second penalty corner and they go for a variation but Amit Rohidas’s low flick is well stopped by South African defence.
End of first quarter: India 2 South Africa 0: India were clearly the dominant side in the first quarter. They had more than 60% of ball possession and South Africa managed just two circle penetration in the first quarter.
1st quarter: 12th min: India 2 South Africa 0: GOAL: Akashdeep Singh doubles India’s lead with a clinical finish and the hosts are beginning to stamp their authority on the game now
1st quarter: 9th min: India 1 South Africa 0: GOAL: Harmanpreet Singh’s drag flick is blocked well by the goalkeeper but Mandeep Singh is quick to intercept the rebound and slots the ball home to give India the lead.
1st quarter: 9th min: India 0 South Africa 0: India has had about 63% possession so far and at least half a dozen circle penetrations. Mandeep Singh has successfully asked for a video referral and India gets a penalty corner.
1st quarter: 6th min: India 0 South Africa 0: What an opportunity that was for Lalit Upadhyay. He got the ball inside the striking circle and tried to dribble past the goalkeeper to find an opening to score but could not control the ball and it goes out of play.
1st quarter: 3rd min: India 0 South Africa 0: Mandeep Singh had a fantastic chance to give India the lead as Manpreet Singh gives a long pass but Mandeep fails to trap the ball inside the striking circle with just the goalkeeper to beat.
1st quarter: 1st min: India 0 South Africa 0: India make a probing run from the right Dilpreet Singh crosses the ball well but the goalkeeper manages to deflect it away from the goal
1st quarter: 0 min: India has started with an attacking line up and Canada beginning the proceedings with a push back
Its time for the national anthem the capacity crowd in the Kalinga stadium can’t wait for the match to get underway
Here is a look at the team sheets:
Belgium have drawn first blood in Group C beating Canada 2-1 in the Group C opener. Felix Denayer (3rd minute) and Thomas Briels (22nd) scored for the winners while Mark Pearson converted a penalty corner in the 48th minute for Canada.
India is hosting the World Cup after a gap of eight years. The last time, the 1975 champions hosted the event in New Delhi, they finished eighth. Harendra Singh and his boys are expected to do a lot better than this in Bhubaneshwar, having reached the final of the Champions Trophy twice in last two editions and also putting up impressive performances in other tournaments they have played.
The tournament is also going to be test for Harendra Singh, who took over as the Indian team coach six months ago and was entrusted with the responsibility of changing the team’s fortune.
However, the team failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics after losing the Asian Games semi-final against Malaysia and India’s failure to make it to the last eight in the World Cup could put Harendra’s job on the line.
Here is Praveen Sudevan’s piece on how this could be Harendra’s hour of reckoning.