Muristek
Potchefstroom, February 8
Olympic bronzes medallists India began their FIH Pro League campaign with a bang as they thrashed France 5-0 in a thoroughly dominant display here today.
After a barren first quarter, India slammed three goals in the second before finding the target twice in the third.
India got four penalty corners in the match from which they scored two. France got three PCs but wasted all of them.
Harmanpreet Singh and Varun Kumar scored from penalty corners in the 21st and 24th minutes, respectively, before Shamsher Singh made it 3-0 in the 28th minute with a field goal.
Mandeep Singh (32nd) and Akashdeep Singh (41st) completed the tally for India. Akashdeep was playing in his 200th international match.
Playing in their first match of the year, world No. 3 India took some time to settle down in the first 15-minute quarter. But once they had got a measure of their opponents, the Manpreet Singh-led side upped the ante and dominated their opponents in the remaining three quarters.
India had 14 shots at opposition goal as against three of France. The fourth quarter did not yield any goal but coach Graham Reid would be satisfied with India's performance. India face hosts South Africa tomorrow, while France take on Netherlands. —