CHENNAI: Hosts Accord Tamil Nadu Dragons opened their Hockey India League 2026 campaign in dramatic fashion, edging out Hyderabad Toofans 4-2 in a shootout after an tightly contested 3-3 draw at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Princedeep Singh emerged as the hero of the night, as he saved the decisive penalty off Talwinder Singh to guide the team home.
In the shootout, Nathan Ephraums converted confidently before Blake Govers' audacious 360-degree effort left the Hyderabad goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg with no chance. Uttam Singh and Mohammed Raheel also found the target. For Hyderabad, Arshdeep Singh opened by getting a penalty stroke which Zachary Wallace converted without any fuss, before scoring his own for a brace. But attempts by Michel Struthoff and Talwinder Singh were kept out by Princedeep, who emerged as the hero on the night.
Earlier, the Dragons made a blistering start, surging to a two-goal lead in the opening quarter and setting the tempo in front of a vocal home crowd. Uttam Singh opened the scoring from a penalty corner, his low effort wrong-footing the goal-line defender following a save by the goalkeeper. Moments later, Thomas Sorsby of England produced a touch of class, collecting the ball just outside the circle, slicing in from the right and firing a sharp angled shot that took a decisive deflection off a Hyderabad defender towards goal.
Hyderabad Toofans hit back through Amandeep Lakra, who scored twice from penalty corners to haul his side back into the contest. Lakra pulled one back with three minutes remaining in the first quarter before striking again early in the second, the two goals coming within the space of six minutes across quarters, to ensure the teams went into the half-time break locked at 2-2.
The home side regained the lead soon after the restart when local hero Karthi Selvam finished off a well-executed set-piece routine to put Tamil Nadu back in front. However, Hyderabad once again found a response, with Belgian international Arthur de Sloover calmly slotting home the equaliser to make it 3-3 and keep the contest finely poised.