Mixed fortunes for Indian teams in FIH Hockey Pro League opener
India’s men’s and women’s teams kicked off their respective FIH Hockey Pro League campaigns with mixed results at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. The Indian women’s side snuck a victory in the final minute of their match against England while the men went down to Spain. In the other match of the day Spain’s women kept their cool to beat Germany. (Women’s) Germany 1 – 2 Spain Both Germany and Spain were looking for their first wins of this year’s competition and it was the Spanish who coped better in the scorching heat, clinching a 2-1 win. All the goals came from first-time international scorers. Spain looked dangerous as they dominated a goalless first half, Patricia Alvarez showing impressive form and giving the Germans a hard time throughout. Estel Petchame then opened the scoring for Spain in the 35 th minute with a fortuitous misdirected cross which found the back of the net. Space opened up towards the end of the third quarter and both goalkeepers made...