Captain Harmanpreet Singh started in 7th minute,  after that within next 20 minutes India scored another four goals. As a result, Indian men’s hockey team won the Olympic Test event on Wednesday, beating New Zealand 5-0 to avenge the loss it endured in their round-robin clash. The other scorers are Shamsher Singh (18th minute), Nilakanta Sharma (22nd minute), Gursahibjit Singh (26th minute) and Mandeep Singh (27th minute).  

At the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo, both teams began the match on a cautious note by turning over the ball in the mid-field. India won a penalty corner in the seventh minute, but couldn’t capitalise on the opportunity. However, skipper Harmanpreet didn’t miss out on a re-awarded penalty corner. He executed a perfect drag-flick to put India in the lead.  Shamsher scored India’s second goal through a penalty corner in the 18th minute. Nilakanta found the back of the net in the 22nd minute before Gursahibjit and Mandeep scored in quick succession. Vivek Prasad intercepted the ball brilliantly to assist a goal for Gursahibjit and Mandeep converted a penalty corner just before the half-time whistle.

After an action-packed first half, the intensity dropped from both sides. New Zealand tried to make a few inroads in the third quarter as they took a shot in the 37th minute which went wide of the post.

Jarmanpreet Singh saved a penalty corner in the next minute as India and New Zealand played out a goalless quarter but the former held the lead at 5-0. In the last quarter, India ensured they stayed in the lead and didn’t allow New Zealand to break through their defence throughout the match.

After the triumph Harmanpreet said, “We played very well. We managed to score our opportunities at the start of the game.” Indian Captain added, “I think the final was always going to be tough, we lost to New Zealand earlier. But we had been having practice sessions after that and worked on our mistakes to win today.”

India’s attacking approach in the match paid off as they walked off the pitch as winners of the competition.

On the other hand Indian Female team beat the host country in Olympic Test event final. On Wednesday India won 2-1 against Japan. Navjot Kaur (11th minute) opened the scoring to put India ahead but the lead was neutralised within a minute as Minami Shimizu (12′) scored for the hosts. Lalremsiami (33′) struck the winning goal for India.