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The Indian men's hockey team completed a comfortable 3-0 win over Germany in a FIH Pro League contest in London, England, on Sunday. Playing at the Lee Valley Tennis and Hockey Centre, the Men in Blue took on a young German side after a tough games against Belgium and Argentina in Antwerp and cruise through a crucial Round Robin stage victory.
Team captain Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring from India's first penalty corner thanks to some smart thinking by Sukhjeet inside the German circle at the 16-minute mark. Indians held majority of the possession but Germany did find a few opportunities which quickly denied by veteran goalkeeper as India went into half-time with a 1-0.
FIH Pro League 2023-24: India decimate Germany 3-0
Then in the second half, India zoomed forward as the next two goals came in succession, within a space three minutes. India's second goal was courtesy of Sukhjeet, who found the back of net with a stunning backhand. Moments later, Jarmanpreet Singh made score 3-0 as he finished off an incredible team goal which involved eight players in its build-up. With this victory, India sits third with 24 points, behind Argentina and table-toppers Netherlands.
The team is constantly improving: Harmanpreet Singh
Look back at the Antwerp leg, Indian men started with a 2-2 draw before securing a 5-4 win for shootout bonus against Argentina and suffered a 1-4 loss to Belgium. In the return fixtures, India drew 2-2 and the lost 1-3 in the shootout against Belgium before defeating Argentina in a thrilling 5-4 victory.
Talking about these results, Harmanpreet Singh told Hockey India, “We played some intense matches against Argentina and Belgium in Antwerp, both in the same pool as us in the Paris 2024 Olympics. We played scintillating hockey in some moments while we struggled in a few others, but the team is constantly improving.”
