Courtesy: Hockey India
On Thursday, October 24, the Indian men’s hockey team defeated Germany 5-3 in the second and final match of the bilateral series at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi, to level it up at 1-1. After trailing against Germany 0-1 at the end of the first half, Indian attackers played exceptionally in the second half, to score five goals, with their captain Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh netting a brace each.
In the first quarter, India started on the front foot with a few circle penetrations inside the German circle, but they were not able to create a clear cut chance to take the lead. And suddenly, in the seventh minute of the contest, against the run of play, Germany took a 1-0 lead after the Indian defenders failed to pick up Elian Mazkour inside the circle, to convert the first shot on target for his team into a goal.
It led to the Indian team pushing for the equaliser, but leaving themselves vulnerable for the majority of the first half as Germany were quite swift with their counters. Both the teams earned a few penalty corners, but they couldn’t convert their chances into goals before heading to the half-time break with the scoreline reading 1-0 in favour of the visitors.
The first goal of the series for India came in the second half of the second match as Sukhjeet Singh found the back of the net with a good stick work, levelling up the scoreline at 1-1. After India found the equalising goal, the fans at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi willed the hosts into overdrive, and suddenly, they scored three goals within three minutes as the captain Harmanpreet Singh got two and Abhishek one, to make 4-1 going into the third quarter break.
With a massive advantage going into the fourth and final quarter, India kept pushing for more as Sukhjeet Singh got his second goal of the afternoon in the 48th minute, to make it 5-1. Germany scored two consolation goals late in the second half with Elian Mazkour and Henrik Mertgens, to end the game with a 5-3 scoreline.
After the series was levelled at 1-1, an additional penalty shootout was organised, which Germany won 3-1 against India.
