October 26, 2016 by admin

Varun’s brace helps junior men beat Germany 3-1

Valencia, Drag-flicker Varun Kumar scored a brace to guide India to a 3-1 win over Germany in their opening game of the four-nation invitational hockey tournament here.
Varun struck in the 17th and 25th minutes before Ajay Yadav rounded off the tally for India in the 68th minute.Both India and Germany began the proceedings on an intense note.
It was India who wrested the initiative with their first penalty corner of the game, which Varun converted. India kept up the pressure but Germany drew level in the 22nd minute through a strike from Kai Aichinger.
But the Indians restored their lead three minutes later when Varun converted another penalty corner. India put up a stubborn defence in the second half and did not allow the Germans too many forays into their defensive third.
The one clear chance that came Germany’s way in the second half was from a penalty corner in the final minutes but it was palmed away by Indian goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya.
Trailing by a goal, the Germans went all out and in the process left gaps in their defence and India utilised the opportunity from a counter-attack when Ajay sounded the board two minutes from the final hooter. They will play Belgium tomorrow.
Junior women lose
However, it was a disappointing start for India’s junior women’s hockey team as it lost 3-0 to England in its opening match of the five-nation invitational tournament.