- By Namrata Vijay
- Wed, 23 Oct 2024 06:02 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs GER: The Indian men's hockey team lost to World Champions Germany by 2-0 in the series opener of the two-match Test series on Wednesday. This sport came back to Delhi after 10 years and Germany skipper Lukas Windfeder and Henrik Mertgens scored two goals and it made all the difference in the end.
The hosts had a forgetful day as they missed eight penalty corners and skipper Harmanpreet Singh's penalty attempt was stopped. Germany missed the services of their star players like Gonzalo Peillat and Christopher Ruhr but the team had players from the junior World Champions team and also players from the silver medal-winning squad at the Olympics.
Initially, both the teams tried to stitch passes in the D but it was Germany who scored a goal early. They scored their first goal in the fourth minute, where Henrik Mertgens with the help of their first circle penetration created all kinds of confusion amongst the Indian defence. Mertgens took advantage of the melee smacked the ball directly towards the net and gave the team the much-needed start. Germany once again tried to rattle the Indian defense, where Krishan Pathak attempted a brilliant save.
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Germany got their first penalty corner during the eighth minute. India then took a review and it was the right decision and it got overturned. The hosts also got their first penalty corner soon but Varun Kumar, who made a comeback to the national side, failed to perform.
The first quarter ended when both teams attempted circle penetrations. During the second quarter, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side bounced back as Germany also tried to control possession. Sanjay had a good penetration towards the circle and his pass went through two Indian players towards the D. India received their 2nd penalty corner during the 22nd minute and it was Harmanpreet this time. The Men in Blue had a variation and Sanjay played a wide shot.
They got another PC in the 25th minute, where the German defenders stopped Amit Rohidas's shot. The Indians tried to pressurise the visitors and they got their third PC soon after. Skipper Harmanpreet entered the field once again as his first attempt was stopped and Roidas's second PC was stopped as well.