India go down fighting 2-3 to Netherlands in their opening game of Hero Hockey Junior World Cup 2013

New Delhi, 6 December 2013: After a minute of silence observed by the two teams and the crowd to honor Nelson Mandela, action started quickly with every move of the Indian players cheered loudly by the local crowd. It was however the Dutch who took an early lead by Milan Van Baal in the 3rd minute. India had a chance soon after on penalty-corner but the low flick was expertly countered by the Dutch runners.

India were more successful a few minutes later, tying the game with a powerful flick by Gurjinder Singh that sent the crowd into raptures. They kept dominating the proceeding, besieging the Dutch circle, but the Oranges weathered the storm quietly, then progressively pushed up the pace to threaten Harjot Singh in the Indian goal.

The Netherlands were rewarded in the 25th minute when Mark Rijkers pounced on a loose ball in front of the goal for a swift push over the line. They scored again a couple of minutes later by Milan Van Baal, his second of the match, to build a comfortable cushion going into the break.

The crowd tried to boost the local team but the Indian players could not penetrate deep enough into the compact Dutch defense to threaten Piet Noordam in goal. The fans had to wait the 42nd minute to see a good chance, and Akashdeep Singh did not waste it, entering the circle at speed, running around the charging goal-keeper and managing to find the far post from an impossible angle.

Play was intense, but balanced. India encouraged furiously by the local fans, pushed desperately for the equalizer but became more nervous as the clock was ticking down. Play was rough at times and two Indian players collected yellow cards. The last few minutes were torrid for the Dutch defence, but they held tight and earned an important win to share the top of Pool C with Korea.

Speaking on the win Netherlands coach Sjoerd Marijne said “This was a good start by the team and will motivate the boys. The team is a mix of club players who have played with the likes of Floris Evers, Teun De Nooijer. However this is the first time they are playing in a tournament of this scale. Going forward their game will only improve.”

Expressing disappointment at the loss in the maiden match Baljeet Singh, Team Manager said “It was a tough match. We got lot of opportunities but we could not encash them. Our defence was also not weak. After the initial hit the team was on track in no time. There were some individual mistake which happened at a time that turned out to be very costly for us.”