Four nations hockey tournament: India trump New Zealand to enter final

New Delhi: India beat hosts New Zealand 3-1 in their final round robin match to enter the final of the double-leg four nations invitational hockey tournament at Blake Park in Tauranga, New Zealand, on Saturday.

India face Belgium in the final on Sunday. The Europeans beat Japan 4-1. India lost to Belgium 0-2 in their second group stage match.

Youngsters Harmanpreet Singh (2nd minute), Dilpreet Singh (12th) and Mandeep Singh (47th) scored on Saturday. India got their first breakthrough in the second minute when Mandeep earned them a penalty corner.

Harmanpreet calmly flicked the ball past New Zealand goalkeeper Richard Joyce. The early goal put the Black Sticks on the back foot.

The next few minutes saw Rupinder Pal Singh, who was rested for their match against Belgium, lead India’s defensive duties. He ensured India employed man-to-man marking to deny the hosts any easy entry into the scoring circle.

An impressive Dilpreet then gave extended India’s lead. Despite Kane Russell’s penalty corner conversion in the 42nd to reduce the margin, India didn’t drop their momentum, attacking swiftly and remaining alert at the back. Mandeep capped their fine show with the third goal that sealed the fate of the match.

“I am particularly happy about today’s win because the team did a lot of analysing ahead of the match and their keenness to improve was evident,” said India’s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne.