India [ Images ] made a bright start to their campaign at the Champions Trophy [ Images ] hockey tournament with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over England [ Images ] in Pool A at the State Hockey Centre in Melbourne [ Images ] on Saturday.
The new-look Indian team clinched a morale-boosting win through goals from opportunistic field goals from Danish Mujtaba (22nd minute) and Yuvraj Walmiki (38th) before Gurwinder Singh Chandi scored in a set-piece penalty corner (66th minute).
Earlier, the India defence was breached by a drag flick from Richard Smith on England's maiden penalty corner in the 14th minute.
Playing the first major international event after their disastrous last-place finish in the London [ Images ] Olympics [ Images ], India have come to the elite eight-nation Champions Trophy with a new look team after dropping several ageing stars.
England have brought a young, experimental team here after several regular players took a break following the Olympics, where Great Britain finished fourth.
Many seasoned players in the England line-up went back to their full-time jobs or universities and left the places open for young players to be inducted for this tournament.
India will take on New Zealand [ Images ] on Sunday in their second outing in Pool A, which also features Olympic gold medalists Germany [ Images ]. Germany edged past New Zealand 3-2 in the other Pool A match.
While, Australia [ Images ] began their hunt for a fifth successive Champions Trophy title by spiking debutant Belgium's challenge 4-2 in a Pool A match.
Photograph: Paul Kane/Getty Images
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