FIH pro league: India edge out Dutch in shootout

Bhubaneswar, February 11

Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh turned out to be the saviour as the Indian men’s hockey team defeated world No. 1 Netherlands 4-2 in the shootout in the FIH Pro League here today.

Sreejesh made three fine saves in the shootout to hand India the bonus point after both the teams were locked 2-2 at the end of regulation time. Netherlands took one point from the match.

In the shootout, skipper Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay and Shamsher Singh scored for world No. 3 India.

In the regulation time, Hardik Singh (13th minute) and Harmanpreet (58th) found the net for India, while Jip Janssen (30th) and Koen Bijen scored for the Dutch.

“I think we really played well and we just showed what Indian hockey is,” Player of the Match Hardik said. “We knew that we were going to create chances, we were going to get PCs, and we have the best drag-flicker in the world right now so we just took our chance,” he added.

Harmanpreet, who was playing his 200th international match, now has three goals in two games. Only Dutch drag-flicker Jansen (four goals) has more goals this season.

Earlier in the day, Spain staged a second-half fightback against Australia, but it was not enough to beat the Kookaburras who emerged as 4-3 winners. “It’s good to be playing international hockey again,” said Australia’s Jake Whetton, who was named the Player of the Match. “We’ve had a little bit of a layoff, about five months, so it’s nice to be back here in India playing Pro League, and yes, a good way to start our campaign.” — Agencies

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