The Indian men’s hockey team began its Paris 2024 Olympics campaign with a 3-2 win against New Zealand at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium on Saturday.
New Zealand took the lead after eight minutes through Same Lane who scored past PR Sreejesh from a penalty corner.
India equalised in the second half after Mandeep Singh scored on the rebound after the first shot from a penalty corner was saved. New Zealand took a referral claiming that its keeper Dominic Dixon had the ball trapped before Mandeep hit it, but it proved unsuccessful.
Four minutes into the second half, Vivek Sagar Prasad gave India the lead after slotting the ball in from close range. New Zealand once again took a referral claiming that the ball was cleared before crossing the line, but it ended up being unsuccessful once again.
With time running out, New Zealand equalised after Sreejesh failed to read a rebound as Simon Child deflected the ball past the Indian goalkeeper.
In the final minute of the match, India received a penalty stroke, which Harmanpreet Singh dutifully dispatched into the back of the goal to give India the win.
