Bhubaneswar, Feb 18 (IANS): Reigning World Champions Germany defeated India 4-1 in a high-octane encounter in the Men's FIH Hockey Pro League 2024-25 at the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday. Florian Sperling (7'), Thies Prinz (14'), Michel Struthoff (48'), and Raphael Hartkopf (55') scored a goal each that helped Germany clinch the three points while Gurjant Singh (13') was the lone goal scorer for India.
With the two teams sharing a healthy rivalry in international hockey, the match was bound to be intense right from the start with both teams producing an exciting brand of hockey. Though India looked like they held better possession in the first five minutes of the opening quarter, the tactically-driven attack by the Germans landed a field goal in the 7th minute of the game. It was a brilliant assist by Eric Kleinlein to Florian Sperling who finished the job with great finesse.
India was quick to respond when Rajinder Singh -- often compared to former India captain and midfield maestro Sardar Singh for his skilful play, set up Gurjant Singh with a classy cross-pass to equalise with Germany in the 13th minute.
The high-octane opening quarter continued to bring edge-of-the-seat action with Germany scoring another goal to extend their lead to 2-1 in the 14th minute. It was Thies Prinz who scored a dramatic goal, that saw Manpreet Singh taking a hit on his back trying to defend. India displayed an aggressive attack going into the second quarter, with youngsters in the forward line showing a lot of heart standing tall against a resolute German defense.
At the start of the quarter, they came close to an equaliser when Nilakanta Sharma made a fine pass to Abhishek inside the circle but the latter was not able to control the pass. There was another big chance in the 20th minute when Gurjant tried to deflect a pass from Rajinder but missed the target.
Meanwhile, Suraj Karkera who replaced Krishan Pathak in the second quarter came up with a brilliant save after India lost the ball to an ill-timed aerial ball in the 28th minute. In the following minute, Dilpreet came up with an unconventional shot on goal but didn't find success.
The match remained electrifying in the third quarter too, and India had an excellent chance to score in the 38th minute when they won a PC. In the absence of the skipper Harmanpreet Singh who was rested, Jugraj Singh attempted the flick but could not come up with a good execution. The following minutes, though, saw India defend really well with three Indian defenders marking the ball carrier. The third quarter remained goalless but India ended up conceding a crucial goal in the 50th minute through Michel Struthoff.
The 3-1 lead now put pressure on India. It was a PC taken by Gonzalo Peillat which was brilliantly blocked by India's first rusher Amit Rohidas but the rebound was taken by Struthoff who was quick to react with a clean shot on goal. Though India made desperate attempts to score in the following minutes, they couldn't come up with a successful result but to add to their woes, they ended up conceding a fourth goal via Raphael Hartkopf thus ending in a 1-4 loss.