India began their Hockey World Cup 2023 campaign with a dominating 2-0 win vs Spain, at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, on Friday. Amit Rohidas opened the scoring in the first quarter with a stunning strike and then a cross by Hardik Singh was deflected by a Spanish defender to make it 2-0.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh could have made it 3-0 but missed a penalty stroke in the second half. This is the second consecutive time India and Odisha are hosting the tournament and the format is such that the first-placed side in Pool D goes straight to the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the second, third-placed teams compete a crossover round against the third and second-placed teams from Pool C