Picture : Hockey India/Twitter
Harmanpreet Singh scored a brace and veteran goalkeeper P R Sreejesh stood like a wall in the closing minutes as the Indian men’s hockey team overcame a late surge from New Zealand to eke out a close 3-2 win in their opening encounter at the Tokyo Olympic Games .
Harmanpreet (26th and 33rd minutes) scored a double for India, while Rupinder Pal Singh (10th) was the other goal-getter for the eight-time champions, currently ranked fourth in the world, in the Pool A match at the Oi hockey stadium in Tokyo.
For the eighth-ranked New Zealand, Kane Russell scored from a penalty corner in the sixth minute before Stephen Jenness (43rd minute) reduced the margin later in the match.
India will next play mighty Australia on Sunday.
