Riding on Amit Rohidas and Hardik Singh, India outclassed Spain 2-0 in their FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 opener in Odisha on Friday (January 14).
While local lad Rohidas netted the first goal for India which came in the 12th minute from a penalty corner at the packed Birsa Munda Stadium. Hardik Singh followed it up with an exceptional field goal in the 26th minute which helped India garner three points in their Pool D match in front of a packed crowd in the state-of-the-art 21,000-seater stadium.
Meanwhile, exhilarated by India's emphatic victory, Amit Rohidas said that it felt great to see such a crowd turn up to watch India’s match against Spain.
“It felt very good to see such a crowd turn up to watch our match. It’s a different feeling to play at home because so many people turn up to support you,” Rohidas said.
He also said that it feels great to play at home, adding that he graduated from the hostel in Rourkela, where the match was being held.
“I’ve graduated from this hostel in Rourkela. It feels great to play at home. I won the Man of the Match award, but the win is all down to the team effort. Such an award boosts confidence,” Rohidas added.
Notably, India got the better of Spain for the first time since February 2022 as the last time they faced each other in the FIH Pro League where India blew a 2-0 lead and were held to a draw.
Harmanpreet-led India will now take on England in their Pool D match on Sunday in Rourkela before facing Wales in the final pool match. The winner of each of the 4 pools directly progresses to the quarter-final while the next two in each group progress to the cross-over to determine the final 4 berths of the quarter-final stage.
Meanwhile, India's chief coach Graham Reid said his players ticked most of the boxes in the 2-0 win over a tricky Spain.
He also praised the home team's defensive efforts to deny their opponents any chances.
"The boys were able to take the ball out of the goal. It was a good start. It is good to get the first game and it is done now and we will now focus on the next game," Reid said at the post match press conference.
"We did practice of playing with 10 men as we thought at some point in the tournament we are going to play with 10 men. It was good. We got in front a lot today and that was very important. We were first with the ball and that makes a lot of difference in these sort of games.
"What is pleasing today is one the defensive effort and the second we handle the ball very well. There were not too many people who did not play well. That is what you need to win a World Cup. We need to continue it in the next game," he added.
