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The Indian men’s hockey team suffered a 1-4 rout at the hands of their German counterparts, while the Indian women were edged out by the Spanish unit 3-4.
FIH Pro League: India 1-4 Germany. (X)
India were found wanting against a relentless German outfit as they suffered a 1-4 drubbing at the hands of the reigning world champions in their FIH Pro League match on Tuesday.
India were weak in defence and they lacked enough quality in the final third.
Florian Sperling gave Germany the lead with his seventh minute strike but Gurjant Singh (13th’) equalised for India within six minutes.
In what proved to be a riveting first quarter, Thies Prinz (14′) restored Germany’s lead a minute later as three goals were scored in the first quarter.
After a goalless second and third quarter, Michel Struthoff (48′) and Raphael Hartkopf (55′) scored twice in the fourth and final quarter to power Germany to a convincing win against the Paris Olympics bronze medallists.
Senior defender Amit Rohidas led the Indian team in this match as regular skipper Harmanpreet Singh was not part of the starting XI. It was, however, not clear why the champion drag flicker did not start.
Harmanpreet, though, was also rested for the home team’s second game.
Coming into the game after a 2-0 win over Spain in their last outing, India could not begin well as Sperling drew the first blood with goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak unable to thwart the danger.
Unperturbed by the opening German strike, India responded swiftly with the experienced forward Gurjant deflecting the ball towards the opponent’s goalpost.
Germany, however, regained their lead in the blink of an eye as the ball again got the better of Pathak after it came off Prinz’s stick.
At the end of first quarter, Germany led 2-1.
India had a great chance to equalise in the 20th minute but Gurjant, trying to deflect a pass from Rajinder, missed the target.
Four minutes later, Arshdeep Singh missed the target by a whisker, even as substitute goalkeeper Suraj Karkera denied Sperling.
In the action before half time, India had more possession but lacked finishing as Germany capitalised on their chances to take the lead.
As the match entered the third quarter, India needed to improve their performance inside the circle, but the Germans remained calm and held on to their lead.
Penalty corners continued to be a problem for India in the third quarter as they failed to convert them.
Instead, Germany scored twice within seven minutes in the fourth and final quarter to seal the match in their favour.
This is India’s second loss in three matches.
Having already scored 10 goals in four Pro League matches, Germany were expected to test India’s defence, and the number of goals indicated that the visitors did their job pretty well.
Indian women’s hockey team 3-4 Spanish women’s hockey team
An unsuccessful fourth and final quarter saw the Indian women’s hockey team go down 3-4 to Spain in a thrilling match to suffer their first defeat of the ongoing FIH Pro League, here on Tuesday.
Baljeet Kaur (19’), Sakshi Rana (38’), and Rutaja Dadaso Pisal (45’) scored for India, while Estel Petchame (25’, 49’), Sofia Rogoski (21’) and Captain Lucia Jimenez (52’) netted goals for Spain.
Sakshi Rana and Jyoti Singh received their maiden senior international caps with the former scoring an impressive goal on debut.
The first quarter was tightly contested. India had an early chance when Rutaja passed the ball to Sharmila Devi from the left, but her shot narrowly missed the post.
Spain attempted to play their signature free-flowing hockey but struggled against India’s defensive press.
In the ninth minute, India earned the first penalty corner but the opportunity was squandered as the ball struck Sushila Chanu’s foot while she was receiving it.
Towards the end of the quarter, Spain had a significant chance when Florencia Amundson unleashed a powerful shot, but Indian goalkeeper Savita made a fine save to keep the score level.
The match opened up in the second quarter with three goals scored in a span of six minutes. In the 21st minute, Deepika drifted wide and fired a reverse hit from the left, which was perfectly deflected into the goal by an unmarked Baljeet, marking her first senior international goal.
Two minutes later, Spain equalised as Rogoski’s powerful reverse shot from close range slipped past Savita and found the net. Spain took the lead in the 25th minute when they earned their first penalty corner, which was successfully converted by Petchame.
Just before half-time, Spain received another penalty corner, but Captain Lucia Jimenez’s shot went too high.
India dominated the third quarter to reclaim the lead. In the 38th minute, debutant Sakshi Rana won the ball from Jimenez near the circle, created an opportunity for herself, and fired a shot on target to equalize.
In the final minute of the quarter, Deepika made an impressive solo run down the left flank, dribbling past defenders and beating the goalkeeper before passing the ball to Rutaja, who finished confidently to restore India’s lead.
Spain applied pressure early in the fourth quarter, winning a penalty corner in the opening seconds, but Constanza Amundson’s shot went wide.
Moments later, in the 49th minute, Spain won another penalty corner. Amundson’s initial shot was blocked by an Indian defender, but the ball fell to Petchame, who struck it past an outstretched Savita to score her second goal of the evening.
Spain reclaimed the lead for the second time in the 52nd minute when captain Jimenez fired a backhand shot from inside the edge of the circle, placing it perfectly into the bottom right corner.
In a desperate attempt to find an equaliser, India played without their goalkeeper for the last four minutes of the match. However, Spain held their defensive shape and secured a narrow victory.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
- Location :
Odisha (Orissa), India, India
