Indian men slump to 1-4 defeat against Germany in Hockey Pro League

The Indian men's hockey team slumped to their second loss in the ongoing Hockey Pro League courtesy of a 1-4 defeat to Germany on Tuesday (February 18).

Craig Fulton's team had earlier lost to Spain 1-3 before bouncing back to beat the Red Sticks 2-0 in their second game. The Indians, who rested Harmanpreet Singh for the second successive game in the competition, struggled with their penalty corners as they did in the second match against Spain.

The Indians will play Germany for a second time in their fourth Hockey Pro League game on Wednesday.

Both teams used the width of the pitch to stretch the other but failed to create any goalscoring chances until Florian Sperling gave Germany the lead against the run of play in the seventh minute. Sperling picked up a pass from Moritz Ludwig following a well-worked foray and tapped the ball in much to the delight of coach Andre Henning.

Elian Mazkour's first-time shot from a narrow-angle was stopped by Krishan Pathak in the 12th minute.

Gurjant Singh tapped one in from close range off an assist from Abhishek to restore parity for the Indians in the 13th minute.

Krishan Pathak came up with one save but failed to stop Thies Prinz from slotting in a lofted ball near the goalmouth even as three German players converged upon the Indian goal in the 14th minute.

Arshdeep Singh's outstretched stick failed to connect to a cross from Raijinder Singh in the 24th minute before Sperling's effort from the edge of the striking circle missed the mark at the other end.

Dilpreet Singh took a tumble while unleashing a powerful first-time strike off a cross from Manpreet Singh in the 28th minute but his shot sailed over the crossbar.

The Indians earned two back-to-back penalty corners in the 33rd minute. Amit Rohidas' drag flick was run down before Sanjay too failed to pack enough power into his effort.

The Indians wasted a penalty corner in the 39th minute when Jugraj Singh failed to get hold of the ball on top of the circle.

Raphael Hartkopf spun around to take a snap-shot at the Indian goal in the 42nd minute but failed to beat Krishan Pathak.

Mazkour won the Germans a penalty corner in the 48th minute. Gonzalo Peillat's drag flick was stopped but Michel Struthoff fired the rebound into the back of the net even as the Indian defenders were left stranded in the circle.

An inspiring run from Moritz Ludwig allowed the Germans to veer away to a three-goal lead in the 55th minute even as the Indians failed to reduce the margin in their third Hockey Pro League game.

How do the teams stack up in the Hockey Pro League?

India will play Germany again in the Hockey Pro League on Wednesday. - Source: Getty

The Indians, who lost their opening game of the Hockey Pro League against Spain, now have three points from three matches.

The Netherlands lead the points table with 14 points from eight matches while England are second with 11 points from four matches.

Belgium have notched up eight points from four matches while Spain have eight points from six games.

The Argentinians have six points from four matches while Australia now have five points from as many matches.