It wasn’t the most technical win, but the Indian men’s hockey team did overcome the Kiwi challenge when they beat New Zealand 3-2 in the 2024 Paris Olympics Pool B opener on Saturday.

PR Sreejesh, the Indian goalkeeper who had to make a couple of very good saves to ensure that the Black Sticks didn’t take the lead, confessed that the tense win was a “good wake-up call” for the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists.

“The first match at the Olympics isn’t always easy and New Zealand is not an easy team,” Sreejesh, who is playing his fourth and final Olympics, told PTI.

“We made some mistakes and we gave them opportunities which they converted, but there were a few good things as well. We got three points and that’s what was important.”

New Zealand had taken the lead early on in the first quarter after a spell of good Indian play saw them dominante in possession. A penalty corner which was converted by Sam Lane then saw the Kiwis force the Indians to make mistakes in the field and until Mandeep Singh’s equaliser in front of goal, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side were struggling to make an impact.

India coach Craig Fulton however was aware that most matches at this level are going to be tough.

“On the ball, we weren't that good today in terms of keeping possession,” said Fulton.

“You can see how [it went between] Australia and Argentina. It was really tight so this was a really, really important step for us. It wasn't the perfect performance, but we had a plan and we stuck to it.”

After Vivek Sagar Prasad’s goal in the third quarter put India ahead, the fourth quarter was a scramble from the Black Sticks who desperately searched for the equaliser while India tried to maintain their lead.

Simon Child scored from another penalty corner in their fourth try and then it was a rush to see who would get the winner.

With captain Harmanpreet Singh stepping up to take the penalty stroke and seal the deal for India, Fulton does agree that the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists could have been a tad more aggressive.

“We had a good game even though we have a few areas to work on,” explained Fulton.

“And I'm glad that we got the win the way we did because we made some mistakes and they punished us for it. At the end of the day, we came back and got the win.”

India will now take on Rio 2016 champions Argentina on July 29 at 4.15pm IST.