Striker Sukhjeet Singh struck a second-half brace as India stunned reigning world champions Germany 3-2 in the FIH Pro League hockey, their first outing after the World Cup debacle, in Rourkela on Friday.
The 26-year-old Sukhjeet, one of the players who survived the axe after India’s shock pre-quarter final exit in the World Cup in January, scored in the 31st and 42nd minutes, both goals coming from field efforts.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh had given the home side the lead in the 30th minute through a penalty corner conversion at the Birsa Munda Stadium.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela on Friday. PTI photo
Harmanpreet had also failed during the World Cup held here and in Bhubaneswar as he had struggled to find the target from his drag flick in the big matches in the showpiece.
India were 3-0 up in the 42nd minute before Paul-Philipp Kaufmann and Michel Struthoff struck for Germany in the 44th and 57th minutes respectively. The Germans, who came with several players from their World Cup-winning team, struggled to score from the penalty corners. They got six penalty corners as against four of India.
Striker Abhishek’s quick thinking forced a German infringement and earned the home team its first penalty corner just before half-time. Harmanpreet picked up a good pass by Hardik Singh to fiercely put it away into the right corner of the post, giving India a 1-0 lead.
A brilliant pass by Jarmanpreet Singh from the 25m mark, slicing into the circle to find a perfect deflection by Sukhjeet fetched India their second goal in the first minute after resumption.
About 11 minutes later, Sukhjeet struck again. Manpreet Singh powered a long pass from the midfield to the striking circle which was picked up well by S. Karthi who then assisted Sukhjeet to score his second goal of the match and India’s third against a formidable German defence.
The visitors managed a goal just before the end of third quarter when Elian Mazkour set up Paul-Philipp Kaufmann to score and Michel Struthoff tucked in a second with just over two minutes left for the final hooter.
Honour for Odisha
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday received the certificate of recognition from Guinness World Records for the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, which left an indelible mark on all during the recent FIH World Cup.
The records book has recognised the facility in Rourkela as “the largest fully seated hockey stadium with 20,011 permanent seats”.
Patnaik said: “This recognition is a testament that Odisha has come a long way and has made a mark on the international sports map.”
Written with inputs from PTI
