Champions Trophy: Indian lose to defending champions Australia
Breda, June 27: India went down 2-3 to World No.1 Australia in a hard fought third round robin match of the Men's Hockey Champions Trophy Breda 2018 here on Wednesday.
Varun Kumar (10th minute) and Harmanpreet Singh (58th) scored for India. Young forward Lachlan Sharp (6th minute) had given defending champions Australia an early lead while Tom Craig (15th) and Trent Mitton (33rd) scored the other goals.
With a place in the final at stake, the match began with an action-packed first quarter with both teams keeping each other on the edge. It were Australia who drew first blood with a splendid goal by Sharp.
The Indian defence was hoodwinked when Jake Whetton was quick to assist Eddie Ockenden whose cross was well picked up by Sharp to deflect past Indian goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh.
India were quick to respond with an improvised attack that fetched them a penalty corner, but a miss-trap off Sardar Singh's injection saw the effort being missed. India earned another penalty corner through Lalit Upadhyay but again the ball bounced off before being trapped but the possession remained with India.
It was S.V. Sunil's brilliant cross to an unmarked Varun Kumar that helped India equalise. Varun made no mistake in picking it up well and flicking it past Australian goalkeeper Tyler Lovell.
Australia however, ended the quarter one goal up as Tom Craig converted a penalty corner. It was messy defensive work by India. Though Sreejesh blocked the first two attempts, the ball was free before Australia drove it in.
With Australia leading 2-1, India showed positive intent as they won a penalty corner two minutes into the second quarter. However, the chance was not capitalised.
India won yet another penalty corner, their fourth, in the following minute but Harmanpreet Singh drove the flick straight into Australia's first rusher. The following minutes saw both teams trade penalty corners, but Sreejesh kept his team in the game with brilliant saves.
With Sunil and Manpreet Singh being sent away with a green and a yellow card respectively, Australia took advantage of fewer India players on the pitch as they beat the defence to score their third goal through Trent Mitton off a Tom Craig assist.
Australia dominated the proceedings as they won their fifth penalty corner, putting India's defence under further stress. It seemed as though the compactness the Indian team showed against Argentina was missing.
Sreejesh was up to the task again when he made an effective save off Australia's sixth penalty corner attempt, but India's overall performance in the third quarter was not at par with Australia.
Going into the final quarter, a goal continued to elude India. Two excellent shots on goal by Sardar Singh followed by Vivek Sagar Prasad in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter were well saved by a very alert Australian goalkeeper.
India made a strong comeback with just two minutes left for the final hooter when they won back-to-back penalty corners. Harmanpreet converted India's eighth penalty corner attempt, narrowing the gap to 2-3.
India will face World No.3 Belgium on Thursday.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus': Raghav Chadha rubbishes AAP's allegations
New Delhi (PTI): "I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus," said Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday as he rejected allegations levelled against him by the Aam Aadmi Party, calling them "false" and part of a "coordinated campaign".
In a video, Chadha dismissed claims that he did not join opposition walkouts, terming the charge a "blatant lie".
He challenged his detractors to cite even a single instance where he failed to participate and said parliamentary proceedings are recorded through CCTV cameras.
Refuting another allegation that he refused to sign a motion related to the Chief Election Commissioner, Chadha said no party leader had asked him, either formally or informally, to sign it. He added that several other MPs from his party had also not signed the motion.
The MP said his focus in Parliament has been on raising public issues such as GST, income tax, air pollution in Delhi, water concerns in Punjab, public healthcare, education, railway passenger issues, menstrual health, unemployment and inflation.
Chadha said that he goes to Parliament to "create impact not ruckus" as it runs on taxpayers' money and it is his responsibility to highlight their concerns. "Every lie will be exposed," he said.
