The Indian men's hockey team opened their FIH World Cup campaign with a comfortable 3-1 win over Wales at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands.
A brace from Harmanpreet Singh after Sanjay opened the scoring did the job as Sam Welsh of Wales scored a consolation late into the match.
Craig Fulton's side started the match slowly, with Wales producing a couple of good chances in the opening five minutes. Suraj Karkera pulled off the first save of the match, a good block to deny Jack Pritchard. Eventually India started playing their game and won a penalty corner in the eighth minute which led to the opening goal.
There was no Harmanpreet on the pitch, but Sanjay's dragflick was on target. The ball hit Wales goalkeeper Toby Reynolds-Cotterill and went into the goal through his legs as India took the lead.
Three minutes later, India won another penalty corner and this time Harmanpreet was on the pitch. The captain executed a perfect dragflick to the goalkeeper's left to make it 2-0 for India.
India had more chances to score in the opening quarter as Wales struggled to contain India's attacks, especially from the right side where Jarmanpreet Singh was a constant threat going forward.
Wales had their moments in the second and third quarters, but they failed to create clear cut chances. India had their opportunity in the 43rd minute from a penalty corner again and Harmanpreet was not missing it. A low and powerful dragflick to beat the goalkeeper and make it 3-0 in India's favour.
Wales pushed for goals and eventually they scored in the 56th minute. It was a bit dramatic with Mohith HS saving the initial shot and after a melee close to the goal, Welsh ensured the ball crossed the line. The umpire initially wanted to give a penalty stroke for Wales following a stick challenge but dropped his whistle. He took a review and wanted to confirm the stroke but the TV umpire told him to give a goal to Wales and cancel out the stroke.
There was not enough time to score more as India took all three points.
Their next outing will be a tough one against England on Monday with Fulton hoping that the team maintains their winning momentum.
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