Paris (France): India skipper Harmanpreet Singh's brace helped theIndian men’s hockey team qualify for the quarterfinals and register a comfortable 2-0 win over Ireland in the pool game of the men’s hockey competition of the Paris Olympics .Harmanpreet orchestrated the victory as scored a goal from penalty stroke via another came from a penalty corner.
Harmanpreet and Co. kept their style of using aerials in the match and relied more on short passes. Their passes were quick and the players also trapped them comfortably. Ireland tried to fight their way back with some counterattacks but none was dangerous enough to produce a goal. Also, their failure to convert penalty corner played a part in their defeat. The first goal for India came through a penalty stroke in the 11th minute and the Indian captain made no mistake in striking the ball into the back of the net. The next one came from a penalty corner in the 19th minute as Harmanpreet''s bullet stroke deflected from the stick of the Irish defender and landed into the goalpost.