India held off a late charge from Holland to win their opening encounter 4-3 in the four-nation junior hockey tournament in Bilbao, Spain, on Saturday.
Sandeep Singh's two brilliant drag-flick penalty-corner conversions guided India to a fine victory.
V Raja and Dhananjay Mahadik scored the other goals for the World champions.
In another match, hosts Spain thrashed Chile 6-1.
Sandeep set up the goal-glut for India, scoring in the fifth minute before Holland equalised through a field goal taking advantage of a defensive lapse.
But Mahadik's goal in the 25th minute ensured that India went to half-time with a 2-1 lead.
Two quick goals after the break put India in the driver's seat against their formidable European rivals.
Trailing 1-4, Holland made a last-ditch effort in the dying minutes and put a lot of pressure on the Indian defence with some incisive moves.
The Indian defence cracked under intense pressure as Holland scored two goals in the last 10 minutes both through penalty-corners -- in the face of some poor work by William Xalco and Mahadik.
But the equaliser eluded the Dutch and India earned full points for a perfect start to the tournament.