Rio de Janeiro, Aug 6: India began their men’s hockey campaign in Rio Olympics with a morale boosting 3-2 win against Ireland in their opening pool encounter here on Saturday (August 6). But Raghunath delivered in the 15th minute as he fired to the left low corner of the post and to the right of David Harte to give India a 1-0 lead. “It won’t be an easy game to win and we will need to go full force”. This are challenging times for the most successful country in men’s Olympic hockey, having won eight gold medals and having not reached the podium since the Moscow 1980 Games. Raghunath (15th) and Rupinder Pal (27th and 49th) scored out of India’s seven short corners while Jermyn John (45th) and Conor Harte (56th) converted from the nine penalty corners that Ireland forced.
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India will play Germany next on August 8 and later face Australia.
“Everyone in India wants us to win the Olympic Games”, said the 29-year-old former captain, who has played for the national team since 2006 and despite losing his “kingdom” has retained his position as midfielder, which is his primary position, and is playing in Rio.
In the other match in Pool B, the Netherlands and Argentina shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw.
Three minutes from the final hooter, Ireland earned another penalty corner to send jitters in the Indian camp but luckily for India the resultant effort went wide.
India’s hockey captain P.R. Sreejesh has warned his team not to take their opening match opponent Ireland lightly, as the debutant can be unpredictable and has shocked big teams recently to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
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India’s midfield of Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh and Danish Mujtaba overpowered the Irish midfield and India made successive penetrations late in the first quarter and it resulted in four penalty corners.
