Chief Minister of Sikkim, Prem Singh Tamang graced the inaugural ceremony of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 at Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, along with the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik.
Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang joined the Chief Minister of Odisha in the opening ceremony and the post-match presentations.
In the opening match, host nation India recorded a 2-0 win against Spain.
Also Read: Sikkim: Supreme court allows old settlers to avail exemptions under IT Act
Notably, the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela was packed to the rafters as home team India took on rivals Spain in a big Pool D encounter to close day 1 of the World Cup.
Spain took an early lead, causing India some nervous moments, but India quickly settled down and was in ahead at the conclusion of the first quarter when Amit Rohidas capitalised on a blocked drag flick by Harmanpreet to bury a shot in the net, India's 200th goal in the tournament! Hardik scored just before halftime to give India a 2-0 advantage going into the break.
India had many chances to extend their advantage in the third quarter, most notably with a Harmanpreet Singh penalty stroke, but Adrian Rafi easily stopped the effort. India also won two penalty corners in the third quarter, but Harmanpreet Singh missed both of them. India kept attacking, refusing to let Spain put them under strain. All attempts by the Spanish assault to score were also expertly prevented by the Indian defence, which was excellently commanded by goalkeeper Krishan Pathak, as India took a 2-0 lead into the final whistle and gained three critical points in Pool D.