Chennai witnessed an exciting start to the Men’s Hockey India League (HIL) 2026 as Tamil Nadu Dragons secured a thrilling shootout victory against Hyderabad Storm. The match took place at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium, where young goalkeeper Prince Deep Singh emerged as the hero by saving two crucial penalty strokes.

After a closely contested regulation time ending in a 3-3 draw, Tamil Nadu Dragons triumphed 4-2 in the shootout to claim the win in the opening game of the season.

The match saw early action when David Hart made a remarkable save in the fourth minute, leading to a fast counter-attack and the first penalty corner for Tamil Nadu. Uttam Singh capitalised quickly to open the scoring for the Dragons.

By the ninth minute, Thomas Sorsby doubled Tamil Nadu’s lead with a skilful goal. However, Hyderabad Storm responded swiftly with Amandeep Lakra converting a penalty corner in the 12th minute, bringing the score to 2-1 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter started aggressively for Hyderabad Storm. Taking advantage of another penalty corner, Amandeep Lakra scored again in the 18th minute to level the score at 2-2. The first half concluded with both teams locked in a draw.

Early in the third quarter, Karthi Selvam restored Tamil Nadu’s lead with a close-range tap-in at the 32nd minute. Hyderabad Storm fought back within five minutes, with Arthur De Sluver scoring from a difficult angle in the 37th minute to equalise at 3-3.

Despite continuous pressure from Tamil Nadu Dragons towards the end of the quarter, Hyderabad Storm’s defence held firm, and the score remained tied going into the final quarter.

Both teams pushed hard for the winning goal in the last quarter, but neither could break the deadlock. The match was thus decided by a penalty shootout.

In the intense shootout, Tamil Nadu Dragons emerged victorious. Rahil Mohammed scored the decisive penalty, earning his team a 4-2 win and a valuable bonus point in the opening match of the season.