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Here are all the key updates from December 15, Friday:
The Mohun Bagan juggernaut continues unopposed
Mohun Bagan's unbeaten start to the season continued with a 3-1 win away to NorthEast United. However, it was the hosts who started on the front foot, with Phalguni Singh giving NEUFC the lead in the 4th minute with a superb long-range effort curled right into the top corner.
However, Bagan turned the game on its head before the half-hour mark with a couple of goals. In the 14th minute, Mirshad Michu opted to punch Liston Colaco's set-piece and it ricocheted straight of Deppak Tangri and into the net. The visitors completed the comeback in the 28th minute with Jason Cummings tapping home from a few yards out after a cushioned header from Armando Sadiku.
The game was effectively over as a contest as Tondonba Singh earned his second yellow card in the 54th minute, after which Subashish Bose confirmed Bagan's win with a goal in the 71st minute. Bagan spurned plenty of opportunities against the ten men, but eventually won all three points to be third in the table, just a point behind leaders Goa with a game in hand. NEUFC meanwhile, dropped out of the playoff spots with 10 points from 10 games enough for seventh.
PKL's Pune leg begins with a bang
There were some absolute thrillers in the Pro Kabaddi League action tonight, with U Mumba opening things off with a last-gasp 42-40 win over Patna Pirates. Sachin's good form continued, but his 12 raid points weren't enough as Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, Viswanth V and Guman Singh proved crucial in U Mumbai's win.
Puneri Paltan lost their nerve towards the end as the home side gave up a lead to lose to Haryana Steelers 39-44. Some superb defending from the Steelers as well as excellent raiding from Vinay saw him grab 15 points from 21 raids that underpinned the Steelers' victory - propelling them to third in the table.
India lose to Spain in 5 Nations hockey tournament opener
The Indian women's Hockey Team started their campaign in the 5 Nations Tournament, Valencia 2023, with a 2-3 loss against the hosts, Spain. Gurjit Kaur (13') and Sangita Kumari (14') each scored a goal for India, while Sara Barrios Navarro (2'), Patricia Alvarez Nardiz (30'), and Julia Strappato Garreta (53') were on target for Spain.
India had a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, but after Alvarez' equaliser, Garreta broke the deadlock late on via a penalty corner to win the game for the hosts.
It was a similar story for the Indian men's Hockey Team, as they went down 0-1 to Spain in their opener as well. Krishan Pathak saved a penalty but a green card for India saw Spain pounce, with Alvaro Iglesias scoring in the 29th minute of the game. India ramped up the pressure in the final quarter earning two penalty corners, but failed to convert.
These are India's forthcoming fixtures:
16th December: Belgium vs India (M) - 8:00 pm
16th December: Belgium vs India (W) - 10:15 pm
19th December: Germany vs India (M) - 3:30 pm
19th December: Germany vs India (W) - 8:00 pm
20th December: India vs France (M) - 3:30 pm
21st December: India vs Ireland (W) - 8:00 pm
Odisha FC come up trumps in Bhubaneswar derby
Odisha FC underlined their status as title challengers as they began their 2023-24 Indian Women's League campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of Sports Odisha. It didn't take long for Crispin Chettri's side to assert their supremacy - captain Manisa Panna rising high to head home Karthika Angamuthu's corner in the 9th minute.
Set-pieces proved to be Sports Odisha's bane once more, as Win Theingi Tun, Myanmar's all-time record goalscorer, was left unmarked from a corner and she headed substitute Jasoda Munda's corner into the net with a minimum of fuss, making it 2-0 in the 56th minute.
Right from the restart, Jasoda found Tun in the box, and she lashed home into the near most to make it 3-0. Tun was involved in the final goal as well, threading a pass to substitute Malati Munda down the left wing, and her attempted cross looped right into the opposite top corner, making it 4-0 in the 87th minute and ending the contest.
India (W) firmly in control against England
Deepti Sharma spun a web round England's batters as her 5 for 17 was enough to skittle the visitors out for 136, after India posted a total of 428 earlier in the day. Nineteen wickets fell in total during the day, with India managing 186/6 by the end of the second day's play to lead by 478 runs. Here's Vishal Dikshit with a detailed recap of the day's events.
What happened yesterday?
India lost 1-4 to Germany in the semifinal of the Junior Men's Hockey World Cup, and will now face Spain in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
Kerala Blasters beat Punjab FC 1-0 in the ISL thanks to Dimitrios Diamantakos's penalty.
Bengaluru FC appointed their former assistant coach Gerard Zaragoza as their new head coach after they had parted ways with Simon Grayson last week.
You can check all the details of yesterday's news events here.