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India needed a late goal to beat France 3-2 in their opening encounter of the Hockey World League semi-finals. Goals from Manpreet Singh, Devindar Walmiki and Ramandeep Singh gave India full points, while the French scored through Olivier Sanchez and Simon Martin-Brisac.
India received bad news before the match as the only drag-flick expert in the side, Rupinder Pal Singh, suffered an injury and had to miss out. Starting without a recognized penalty corner taker, India looked short on confidence and were given a harsh welcome as France took the lead in the 3rd minute itself. After some horrible defending by India in the D, the ball fell to Olivier Sanchez, who put the ball in the goal with a first-time shot.
India, ranked 9, began to keep control of the ball with Sardar Singh pulling the strings from a deep-lying midfield position. However, France defended resolutely and looked dangerous on the counter-attack. The first quarter ended with the score in the favour of the French.
In the second quarter, India started brightly and made numerous forays in the opposition penalty area. They were duly awarded a penalty corner for their pressure in the 26th minute. Manpreet Singh took the resulting drag-flick and while his first shot was deflected dangerously by goalkeeper Martin Zylbermann and India were awarded another penalty corner. This time, the youngster made no mistake and hit the ball low to the keeper’s right to level the score. He did a Cristiano Ronaldo celebration to show his delight.
Playing his debut match, Devindar Walmiki, who replaced the injured SV Sunil in the squad, got his first goal for the national side in the 29th minute. Sardar Singh found Dharamvir Singh brilliantly on the right flank and he passed to Akashdeep Singh who found Walmiki free in the D. The youngster took a touch and hit a stinging drive to beat a brilliant Zylbermann on his near post. The half time hooter sounded soon after.
The third quarter saw a renaissance by the French. The European nation kept on troubling the Indian defenders with regular penetrations in the box. Their speed was too hot to handle and it required a couple of sensational saves by PR Sreejesh to keep the score in India’s favour. However, 2 minutes before the end of the third quarter, Martin-Brisac, after brilliant work from Tom Genestet, beat the Indian custodian with a rasping shot.
The final quarter saw some sensational end-to-end play as both teams went for the winner. Jasjit Singh failed to convert a late penalty corner for India and it looked like the match would end in stalemate. But, captain Sardar Singh had other ideas. The halfback beat 3 French players and entered the D. His mistimed shot found Akashdeep Singh, who fluffed his shot and the ball deflected off Zylbermann and into the path of a waiting Ramandeep Singh. The forward made no mistake as his first-time sliding shot found the back of the net.
The goal sent the Indian fans in a frenzy as they wildly celebrated a late winner. France put up a good fight, but India’s quality showed at the end as the Asian Games winners started their campaign on a winning note. They face Poland on 23rd June while France face the mighty Australians on the 21st of June.
