Paris: Indian men’s hockey team defeated New Zealand 3-2 to open its campaign at the Paris Olympics on a rousing note here on Saturday.
It was not an easy win as New Zealand took the lead in the eighth minute through Sam Lane from their first penalty corner.
But India bounced back strongly to first level the scores in the 24th minute through Mandeep Singh, who scored from a rebound off a penalty corner, and then took the lead through Vivek Sagar Prasad in the third quarter.
New Zealand, however, drew level in the 53rd minute through Simon Child.
But skipper Harmanpreet Singh ensured the win for India, scoring from a penalty stroke just a minute from the hooter.
India will play Argentina in their next Pool B match on Monday.
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