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The Indian men began their 2023-24 FIH Men's Hockey Pro League campaign in style with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Spain in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, February 10.
Harmanpreet Singh and Jugraj Singh displayed their penalty corner prowess while Lalit Upadhyay provided a glimpse of his sublime goalscoring skills at the Kalinga Stadium.
Spain had their chances but some remarkable saves by PR Sreejesh helped the Indians pick up three points from their Men's Hockey Pro League opener.
Marc Miralles ensured that the Red Sticks had the better of the exchanges early on but Hardik Singh weaved his way into the circle to help the Indians earn a PC in the seventh minute. Harmanpreet Singh went straight and low beating Luis Calzado to give the home side the lead much to the delight of the spectators at the Kalinga Stadium.
Harmanpreet conceded a PC early in the second quarter for a foot on the edge of the circle but Sreejesh used his pads to good effect thwarting Pepe Cunill's drag-flick.
The Indian captain was denied thrice as the Olympic bronze medalists won three back-to-back PCs but there was no stopping Harmanpreet Singh from the spot after a penalty stroke was awarded for a body stop on the line in the 20th minute.
Jugraj Singh tried his hand at a drag-flick as the Indians won a PC in the 22nd minute but failed to find the target. Abhishek earned a short corner for India in the 24th minute and this time Jugraj Singh went straight and low much like Harmanpreet SIngh's opening flick. The result was much the same with the ball slipping past Luis Calzado's pads to give India a 3-0 lead in Bhubaneswar.
A couple of magnificent saves from Sreejesh frustrated Max Caldas' team who earned a short corner a minute before half-time. Enrique Gonzalez was deemed to have been obstructed by Gurjant Singh in the 34th minute of play. Marc Miralles beat Krishan Pathak off the penalty stroke that followed.
Lalit Upadhyay got onto the scoresheet with a cricket-like first-time shot in the 50th minute after being picked out by Sukhjeet Singh to take the game away from the opposition.
India plays the Netherlands in their second match on Sunday, February 11. The Dutch beat Ireland 5-1 earlier on Saturday.
How have the Indians fared in the history of the Men's Hockey Pro League?
The Indian men did not play in the inaugural edition of the FIH Men's Hockey Pro League in 2019 despite being ranked fifth in the world. The Australians won the competition with Belgium finishing second while the Netherlands won bronze. India joined the tournament during the COVID-interrupted second season in 2020 finishing fourth out of nine teams with Belgium winning gold.
The 2021-22 edition of the Men's Hockey Pro League was won by the Netherlands even as the Indians won the bronze medal. Australia was a notable absentee during the third season of the competition. Harmanpreet Singh of India ended up as the highest scorer with 18 goals.
Harmanpreet also ended up as the top scorer last season with an identical tally of 18 goals with the Indians finishing fourth behind the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Belgium.
Interestingly, mighty Australia finished in seventh place during the 2022-23 season which was their worst-ever performance in the history of the Men's Hockey Pro League.
