Chennai, 6 January 2026: Under the warm floodlights of the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Accord Tamil Nadu Dragons held their nerve to beat JSW Soorma Hockey Club 3–2 in the Hero Men’s Hockey India League 2026, continuing their impressive start to the season and climbing to the top of the table.
The opening quarter saw the Dragons dominate possession but fail to make it count. They earned an early penalty corner only for the Soorma defence led by captain Harmanpreet Singh, to snuff out the chance. Six circle entries and just one clean strike on goal summed up Tamil Nadu’s frustration, while JSW squandered three opportunities of their own in a slow, scrappy midfield battle that did little to stir the sparse crowd.
Momentum shifted in the second quarter as the home side began to stitch together sharper combinations. Their persistence paid off late in the half when Selvaraj Kanagaraj broke through the defensive line to open the scoring in the 28th minute. Barely a minute later, Uttam Singh made the best use of a move that developed on the right flank, received the ball near the spot from a goalline run Blake, hoodwinked Nicolas della Torre and hit home from hand-shaking distance in front of the goalie after a defensive lapse by India player Vivek Sagar Prasad, and sent the Dragons 2–0 up with 39 seconds left before halftime.
The double strike jolted JSW Soorma into action. They came out stronger after the break, with Maninder Singh pulling one back in the dying moments of the third quarter. An aerial pass was stopped by a Tamil Nadu defender, and when the intercept ricocheted loose, it fell right in front of him and Maninder made no mistake, blasting past Irish keeper David Harte to make it 2–1.
Just as JSW built rhythm, the Dragons hit back. In the 47th minute, Australian forward Blake Govers, who had a hand in the first goal, pounced on a quick counter and slotted home Tamil Nadu’s third goal, restoring their two-goal cushion. The visitors pressed hard in the final stretch, earning six penalty corners, and finally found success when Harmanpreet Singh converted from the last of these set-piece drills, two minutes from time. But it was too little, too late.
For the home crowd, the 3–2 win was another sign of Tamil Nadu Dragons’ intent in this season’s revived Hockey India League, a blend of local flair, solid structure, and the cutting edge of international talent. JSW Soorma, despite flashes of brilliance, will return to the drawing board still hunting their first points of the campaign. Dragons have two wins from two outings and will have one more match before the League moves to Ranchi for the second phase on Jan 11 after a rest day on Jan 10.
