Tanveer Singh Kapoor, Pune
The Indian men’s hockey team played a 1-1 stalemate against the Netherlands in a nail-biting fixture at the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation International Tournament 2023. The Dutch team recently won the 2022-23 FIH Hockey Pro League title.
India suffered a defeat against the hosts Spain in their opening game, but they bounced back on Wednesday, July 26, with an impressive performance.
India built on early momentum, creating chances in the circle and securing an early lead after winning a penalty corner. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh scored India’s only goal in the 12th minute. Meanwhile, Jasper Brinkman equalised for the Netherlands in the 40th minute.
The Netherlands earned the first penalty corner of the game, but the flick was dragged wide to the left side of the post. India, on the other hand, capitalised on the penalty corner opportunity they got. The 1-0 lead in the first quarter put India in the driving seat.
In the second quarter, both teams traded penalty corners, but neither succeeded. Krishan Pathak, who stepped in for PR Sreejesh, pulled some heroic saves. Dutch goalkeeper Mauritius Visser was also kept busy by Indian attackers as they won consecutive penalty corners but could not double their lead.
Both teams won a penalty corner each in the third quarter. Sreejesh and Visser remained calm in endeavoring to keep the opposition from converting a penalty corner. Finally, the experienced Jasper Brinkman managed to level the score with a splendid effort to convert the penalty corner.
In the final few minutes of the third quarter, India produced an excellent counterattack led by Harmanpreet. But he could not find the gap and capitalise on the golden opportunity.
The last quarter remained close, with both teams pushing for a winner. They could not convert their chances despite creating many of them.