In the first quarter, both the teams attacked aggressively
on each other half and tried score the first goal for their team. After series
of attacks from both sides, India ’s
midfielder Chinglensana Singh sneaked into French half and hit the ball in the
goal-box to score the first goal of the match in the 18th minute. With
this early lead, Indians took control of the match and put French players in
tremendous pressure. Indians didn’t allow France to take control of the ball
and the opponent struggled in rest of the quarter. After intense tussle from
both sides, first quarter ended at 1-0 score in favour of India .
In the second quarter, Indians came on the field with more
confidence and maintained their control over the match. Led by captain Sardar
Singh, midfielders SK Uthappa, Danish Mujtaba and Devinder Walmiki displayed a
high-level hockey skills and kept their team attacking. Forward players SV
Sunil, Ramandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh kept on charging on the French side
and played the ball in their half. After continuous attacks, SV Sunil dribbled
past French defenders and sent the ball into the nets for the second goal in
the 26th minute. Leading by two goals, Indian continued their domination
on the match and maintained the score-card at 2-0 by the end of second quarter.
In the third quarter, host team France stepped in with
aggression and surprised India
with their quick passes. French players were desperately looking for
opportunities to score goals and reduce the margin. They attacked on Indian
side and tried hard for goal-scoring chances, which brought pressure on Indian
side. In few occasions, they came very close to Indian goal-posts but Indian
defence-line restricted their attacks. In the last few minutes of the quarter, France earned a penalty corner, which
successfully thwarted by India
goal-keeper PR Sreejesh and maintained the score-line at 2-0 by the end of
third quarter.
The fourth quarter seen the closely-fought battle as both
the teams pushed each others to score more goals. French players played with
more aggression and they managed to earn two back-to-back penalty corners. But
both were saved by Sreejesh with his brilliant moves. Indians counter attacked
on France ’s
half and tried hard to increase the score-sheet. However, as the match got
closed to the final whistle, both the teams challenged each other and fought
hard for the ball possession and score more goals. After a neck-to-neck battle,
the match finished at 2-0 in favour of India .
Hockey India Press release
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