The Indian hockey team defeated South Africa 10-2 in their second match of the Men's FIH Pro League 2021-22 at the University of the Northwest in Potchefstroom, South Africa on Wednesday.

Gursahibjit Singh (24 ', 36'), Dilpreet Singh (25 ', 58') scored two goals each while Jugraj Singh (4 ', 6', 23 ') topped the scoreboard with a hat - trick. Harmanpreet Singh (2 '), Abhishek (12') and Mandeep Singh (27 ') scored each.


 

Daniel Bell (44 ') and Richard Pautz (45') scored for South Africa. With this victory, India finished third in the FIH Pro League 2021-22 standings after the Netherlands and Belgium. India beat France 5-0 on Tuesday.

Against the home team from South Africa, India hit the ground running and took the lead through a penalty corner in the second minute. Harmanpreet Singh swings small to the left to open the scoring.

Two minutes later, the Indian hockey team was awarded another penalty corner for tackling inside the circle, which was easily scored by Jugraj Singh to double the lead.

Read also: In the last 24 hours, 67,084 new Covid-19 cases and 1,241related deaths were reported in India.

Another penalty corner was awarded to the South African players who tried to control India in the sixth minute. Jugraj Singh, in his second international appearance, made no mistake in pulling the ball under the sticks to the helpless Estonian Creek, making it 3-0.

Despite the lead, Manpreet Singh & Co continued to put intense pressure on the host team and collapsed again. South Africa just buried the ball in the net inside the circle for Abhishek.

India took a 4-0 lead in the first quarter. Ranked 10th South Africa played better in the second quarter and not only relentlessly attacked India but also made moves in Indian circles.

Read Also: ISL 2021-22: FC Goa beat Chennaiyin FC to keep playoff hopesalive with help of Ortiz hat-trick scores.

But it did not take long for India, ranked third in the world, to persevere again to run the scoreboard. Jugraj Singh converted another penalty corner to give India his hat-trick and fifth goal.

India won by penalty corners to extend their lead with two consecutive field goals. First, Gursahibjit Singh got the slot on a beautiful pass from Dilpreet Singh and a few seconds later, the assistant provider Dilpreet got his name on the score sheet. India are currently leading 7-0.

The match ended 8-0 before Mandeep Singh's superb stroke at half time in the circle. The trend continued after a 15-minute break as India reached ninth position with a superb team goal from the Gursahibjit Singh stick.

South Africa won in the 44th minute when Daniel Bell converted a penalty corner after three failed attempts in the same quarter. The first goal gave the hosts confidence, and in the next minute Richard Pautz outscored Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh 9-2.

Graham Reid's India slowed down the game in an attempt to avoid scoring more goals in the final quarter. The action between the two sides of the field gained momentum before Dilpreet Singh sent the racket from a distance, leaving the match with a final score of 10-2.

India will take on France in the FIH Pro League on Saturday at the same venue.

(This story have being taken from website feed)