Four-Nation Tournament: India hammers France 4-0 to start campaign on winning note

Harmanpreet Singh scored a brace as the Indian men’s hockey team thrashed France 4-0 to begin its campaign in the Four-Nation Tournament on a rousing note on Monday.

The Indian defence produced a resolute performance, with France failing to get past veteran PR Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak at the goalpost.

Harmanpreet (13th, 26th minutes) converted two penalty corners, while Lalit Upadhyay (42nd) and vice-captain Hardik Singh (49) were the other goal-getters for India.

India broke the deadlock two minutes from the first quarter through Harmanpreet’s powerful dragflick. He doubled the lead in the second quarter, converting another penalty corner.

Lalit made the scoreline 3-0 after the change of ends when he found the back of the French goal through a penalty corner variation.

In the final quarter, Hardik extended the lead to take the game beyond France’s reach by scoring a finely executed field goal.

The week-long tournament features France, the Netherlands, India and hosts South Africa.

India will face France again in its second match on Wednesday, followed by a match against host South Africa on Friday and then against the Netherlands on Sunday.