India beat Spain by 2-0 and won the opener in World Cup 2023 in Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, Rourkela. India gave both goals in the first half of the match. Amit Rohidas gave a goal in the 12th minute and Hardik Singh gave the second goal.
Besides India, Australia and England also won their respective first games.
India vs Spain: Match Highlights
India won their first game in their Hockey World Cup in the 2023 campaign by defeating Spain. Amit Rohidas and Hardik Singh scored the two goals. The Indian skipper Harmnanpreet Singh got deflected by a Spanish defender for which he couldn’t make it a 3-0. He even missed the penalty score in the second half. In the first quarter, India led Spain at 1-0, and Rohidas scored a goal in the 12th minute. In the second quarter, India was leading by 2-0, as Hardik Singh scored in the 26th minute. In Quarter 3, Harmanpreet missed his penalty stroke in the 32nd minute and India was leading 2-0. In the last quarter, none of the teams could store.
This is the second time, India is hosting the tournament. The first-placed team in Pool D goes directly to the quarterfinals. The teams that finish in second and third place will compete in a crossover against the third and second-ranked teams from Pool C.
India is at No.6 to win a World Cup after forty years. They won their title in the year 1975. Players like Harmanpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh, and Goalkeeper Sreejash are important players for the World Cup. Spain is at the No.8 position in the FIH rankings. In the last tournament, they finished at the 13th spot.
The Starsports Network is going to broadcast the Hockey World Cup 2023 and fans can stream the matches digitally on Disney+ Hotstar and on the Hockey App.
