Paris Olympics 2024 IND vs NZ Hockey: The Indian hockey team made a great start in the Paris Olympics 2024. This match, which was extremely competitive and exciting, kept the heartbeat of all Indian fans high till the end. India’s first match in the hockey event of Olympics 2024 was against New Zealand. India made its strength felt by defeating New Zealand. This match was sometimes going in favor of India and sometimes in favor of New Zealand, but in the last minutes of the fourth quarter, India managed to win the match 3-2 by scoring a goal.
New Zealand dominated in the first quarter
New Zealand dominated in the initial minutes. With the help of a penalty corner, Sam Lane scored a goal in the 8th minute and made the score 1-0. After this, New Zealand made continuous efforts, but the Indian defense thwarted their efforts.
India made a comeback in the second quarter
In the second quarter, India changed its strategy and played faster. As a result, India got a goal on a penalty corner in the 24th minute. However, New Zealand asked for a review from the referee, but they failed. After which India was successful in equalizing 1-1 with New Zealand till half time.
India took the lead in the third quarter
Immediately after half time, in the 34th minute, midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad scored from close range to give India the lead. In the third quarter, New Zealand got five penalty corners, but Sreejesh stood like a wall and did not let New Zealand convert all five penalty corners into goals. After which India managed to take a 2-1 lead in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was exciting
In the fourth quarter, despite India’s strong defense, Sreejesh could not clear the rebound, due to which New Zealand equalized the score. It seemed that the match was heading towards a draw, but in the 59th minute, India got a penalty stroke on New Zealand’s foul. Captain Harmanpreet Singh took advantage of this opportunity and scored a goal and gave India a 3-2 victory.
FT:
India 🇮🇳 3️⃣ – 2️⃣ 🇳🇿 New ZealandMandeep Singh 24′
Vivek Sagar Prasad 34′
Harmanpreet Singh 59′ (PS)Lane Same 8′ (PC)
Simon the Child 53′ (PC)Just the start we wanted in our first game of the group stage against New Zealand.
3 Points in the bag, One Win – One game… pic.twitter.com/XxBZr0MUGm— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) July 27, 2024
When is India’s next match?
India is now third in Pool B, while Belgium and Australia are first and second. India’s next match will be against Argentina on July 29. The top four teams of Pool B will reach the quarter-finals.
Also read:
Indian Hockey Olympic Medals List: Hockey India has a golden history in Olympics, see how many medals it has won along with 8 gold
