New Delhi: Delhi Waveriders defeated Jaypee Punjab Warriors 2-1 in the inaugural match of the Hockey India League at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here tonight. Oskar Deecke and Gurvinder Chandi scored the goal for the home team while Kieran Govers scored the lone goal for the Punjab team.

Delhi Waveriders captain Sardar Singh after the match said that this was the first match and the team was trying to get the combination right.

“I am happy that the team won it was crucial for us, this was the first match of a long tournament and our focus was to get the team combination right. We will try to improve with every match.”

Waveriders coach AK Bansal after the win said, “We have to improve our game, this was the first match and we need to learn from hit. On the controversy surrounding the involvement of Pakistani players, Bansal said, “Today we didn’t pick the Pakistani players because they arrived this morning and were short on practice. They will play a crucial role in the coming matches.”

Jaypee Punjab Warriors captain Jamie Dwyer blamed the first half’s performance for his team’s loss. “We were outplayed in the first half, in the second half we came back strongly but it was not enough. This was the first match and we were trying to sort out the combinations. We expect to get better in the coming matches.”

Dwyer said that the level of hockey shown by both teams was poor and said that teams will get better as the tournament progresses.    

By Indian Sports News Network