India beat Spain by 2-0 in their first encounter of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 on January 13 at Rourkela, Odisha. India, currently ranked 6th in the World Hockey rankings, did not have to break enough sweat to beat the world-ranked 8th team, i.e Spain in their first match. Playing at home, India is one of the strong contenders to lift the hockey world cup, which is in its 15th edition this year. India last won a silver medal in the FIH Hockey World cup in 1973.
India took lead at the fag end of the 1st quarter of the game through Amit Rohidas’s strong penalty corner finish. The second goal came off a beautiful flick near the right-post corner from Hardik Singh. The flick took a small deflection from a Spanish defender and ended inside the goalpost. India was 2-0 up by the end of the second half.
Amit Rohidas was adjudged the Player of the Match for his excellent display of skill with the stick on the hockey pitch.
Spain tried their best to breach the Indian defenses but it could not succeed. Here are some of the important stats from the India vs Spain hockey world cup match, to sum up, India’s dominance.
FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 Day 1 Results
- Match 1 – Argentina vs South Africa (1-0)
- Match 2 – Australia vs France (8-0)
- Match 3 – England vs Wales (5-0)
- Match 4 – India vs Spain (2-0)
FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 Day 2 Fixtures
- Chile vs New Zealand (1 PM)
- Malaysia vs Netherlands (3 PM)
- Belgium vs Korea (5 PM)
- Germany vs Japan (7 PM)