On Saturday, June 8, the Indian women’s hockey team suffered their seventh consecutive defeat in the FIH Pro League, going down 2-4 against Germany at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London. With this tough loss, India stayed in eighth place in the league standings behind the bottom-placed USA with just eight points in 15 matches.
The first quarter for the FIH Pro League clash belonged to the India women, who scored two goals in quick succession against the Germans. Sunelita Toppo and Deepika Kumari went on the scoresheet after putting the ball in the back of the net from open play in 9th and 15th minute respectively.
Viktoria Huse pulled one goal back for Germany in the 23rd minute through a penalty corner conversion. She also managed to put her team on level terms at 2-2 in the early stages of the second half in the 32nd minute with yet another penalty corner goal.
In the fourth quarter, Germany earned a 3-2 lead through a goal from Stinne Kurz in the 51st minute, converting a penalty corner. Just four minutes later, they put the game beyond India after Jule Bleuel scored a field goal to make it 4-2.
During their ongoing tour of Europe, India had lost their previous six matches in the FIH Pro League before their recent defeat against Germany. They went down twice against Belgium and Argentina in Antwerp last month before getting beaten by Germany and Great Britain in London earlier this month.