EUROPE has been in the middle of an unrelenting Summer, with historic records being broken left, right and centre. The Netherlands has also felt that record-breaking wave of heat. On August 13, just as the teams had finished gathering for the World Cup, parts of the country had recorded daytime temperatures of over 35*c. “It was,” one of the Dutch papers had noted, “the hottest August 13 ever registered in the country.”
On Saturday, though, the Netherlands saw cooler temperatures. That pattern also extended to Amstelveen's Wagener Stadium, one of the most well-known hockey Stadiums in the world. One of the two venues for this edition of the quadrennial bash, it became a select band of grounds to have hosted the World Cup for a second time.
The heat, though, was provided by the stick of Harmanpreet Singh, whose brace of goals from penalty corners gave India a comfortable enough 3-1 win over Wales. The World No. 8, in search of just their second World Cup title and first in 51 years, when they had last medalled at the quadrennial bash, rarely put a foot wrong in their opener.
Clad in a saffron jersey, the first time that they have played with this uniform since the jersey colour row briefly threatened to swallow the sport with just weeks before the event, Harmanpreet & Co. were pretty much on the front foot from the off.
Wales, who are part of GB at the Olympics, are a limited team but full of heart. Featuring in just their second World Cup, they were tenacious, but the Asian champions had too much for them.
The last time the men's team played in a meaningful World Cup game before Saturday, they crashed out against New Zealand in spectacular circumstances in 2023. On that Sunday night, the team fluffed their lines, especially in the way they defended as well as in converting deadball situations.
It's why this game against Wales would have pleased coach Craig Fulton. The skipper scored from two penalty corners, and the Indian backline rarely conceded a chance to their opponents (just one penalty corner). If the skipper’s two goals sealed the deal, it was Sanjay who set the ball rolling in the first quarter, also from another penalty corner. Sure, their opponents were fairly limited, but as a confidence-building measure, this was an important first hour ahead of tougher tests.
One of those tests will be against England on Monday.
Result: India 3 (Harmanpreet Singh 2, Sanjay) bt Wales 1 (Sam Welsh)