Indian men's hockey team hammers New Zealand 5-0 to win Olympic Test Event
Tokyo: The Indian men's hockey team won the Olympic Test event here on Wednesday, beating New Zealand 5-0 to avenge the loss it endured in their round robin clash. Captain Harmanpreet Singh (7th minute) set the ball rolling before Shamsher Singh (18th minute), Nilakanta Sharma (22nd minute), Gursahibjit Singh (26th minute) and Mandeep Singh (27th minute) scored for India at the Oi Hockey Stadium here.
India had lost 1-2 to New Zealand earlier in round robin league-stage. "We played very well. We managed to score our opportunities at the start of the game," Harmanpreet said after the triumph. "I think the final was always going to be tough, we lost to New Zealand earlier. But we had been having practice sessions after that and worked on our mistakes to win today," he added.
Both teams began the match on a cautious note by turning over the ball in the mid-field. India won a penalty corner in the seventh minute, but couldn't capitalise on the opportunity. However, skipper Harmanpreet didn't miss out on a re-awarded penalty corner. He executed a perfect dragflick to put India in the lead.
The Indian team continued to hold possession and put tremendous pressure on the New Zealand defense as they ended the first quarter at 1-0. Shamsher scored India's second goal through a penalty corner in the 18th minute.
New Zealand managed to make only two circle entries in the second quarter as the Indian team scored three more goals. Nilakanta found the back of the net in the 22nd minute before Gursahibjit and Mandeep scored in quick succession.
Vivek Prasad intercepted the ball brilliantly to assist a goal for Gursahibjit and Mandeep converted a penalty corner just before the half-time whistle. After an action-packed first half, the intensity dropped from both sides. New Zealand tried to make a few inroads in the third quarter as they took a shot in the 37th minute which went wide of the post.
Jarmanpreet Singh saved a penalty corner in the next minute as India and New Zealand played out a goalless quarter but the former held the lead at 5-0. In the last quarter, India ensured they stayed in the lead and didn't allow New Zealand to break through their defense throughout the match.
India's attacking approach in the match paid off as they walked off the pitch as winners of the competition.
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West Asia crisis: Rajasthan man goes missing near Oman after Iranian missile hits oil tanker
Jaipur (PTI): A man from Nagaur district in Rajasthan has gone missing after a missile struck an oil tanker he was aboard near Oman amid the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, according to his family members.
The family said they received information that an Iranian missile hit the vessel on the morning of March 1 while it was stationed at Khasab Port, causing significant damage to the ship.
Dalip Singh, the missing crew member, is a resident of Khinwatana village in Nagaur and began his duty on January 22.
He was serving as a crew member on the tanker operated by Skylight Company. At the time of the attack, Dalip was in the forward section of the ship with another crew member, Ashish Kumar, who hailed from Bihar. While Kumar's body has been recovered, Dalip remains untraceable, his brother Devendra Singh said.
Devendra further mentioned that the company informed them that most of the crew members were evacuated safely during the attack. However, Ashish and two others, including Dalip, have gone missing.
He noted that Dalip last spoke to the family on February 28.
Additionally, another man from Nagaur district, Sunil Kumar, was also working on the same vessel. Dalip is said to have taken over duty in the shift after Sunil completed his assignment, Devendra added.
