India opens three-match test series with a 2-1 win over Bangladesh

New Delhi: The Indian Men Hockey team registered their first win in the opening match against the hosts Bangladesh 2-1 in the three match series started today at Dhaka.

While it was Bangladesh who made a dominating start in the match and scoring the very first goal through Farhad Ahmed Fhitul in the 30th minute, it was India who immediately bounced back in the game and stole away the show from the home team within a matter of five short minutes.

After conceding a goal by Bangladesh, it was Indian defender Gurjinder Singh who immediately replied by piercing in a field goal in the 32nd minute of the match and leveled the score at 1-1. Indian mid-fielder Harjeet Singh quickly supported the team in snatching away the lead by 2-1 before the half time when he made no mistake in converting the penalty corner in the 34th minute of the match which helped India to seal the game with a 2-1 win. Gurjinder Singh received the Man of the Match award.

Speaking on the win, Coach Tushar Khandker said, “Many players in the team are playing their first international match. This series will prepare them for the upcoming Asian Games. The players are getting exposed to various techniques and training on tackling the ball in different situations during the game. The team has much more potential than what they have shown today and we expect even better results in the remaining matches.”

India will now play their second test match against Bangladesh on 8 August 2014 at 1530hrs IST.