The Indian men’s hockey team consolidated their position at the top of the FIH Pro League table by defeating an inexperienced German team 3-1 in the second and final match. Sukhjit Singh (19th), Varun Kumar (41st) and Abhishek (54th) scored for India while Anton Boeckel (45th) scored the only goal for Germany. India had defeated Germany 3-0 in the first match.
India are now at the top with 27 points from 12 matches while Germany are second with 17 points from 10 matches. Six players out of Germany’s 22-man squad have made their senior debuts through these two matches.
India made some strikes in the first quarter but could not convert them into goals. Within four minutes of the second quarter, Sukhjeet scored a field goal to give India the lead. He scored the goal from the right side of the circle on move by Manpreet Singh and Neelkant Sharma. The Indians were infused with energy after the first goal was scored and they continued to attack in the second quarter. Germany also retaliated but the Indian defense line was ready.
In the second half, India got a penalty corner within three minutes but Harmanpreet’s shot was saved by German goalkeeper Jean Denenberg. For India, Varun doubled the lead in the 41st minute by scoring a penalty corner. Four minutes later, Anton scored for Germany. Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was already out and Anton took full advantage of it. Abhishek scored India’s third goal in the 54th minute. With these two victories, India’s home campaign in the FIH Pro League came to an end.
