India men’s team goes down to Netherlands, finishes third
The India men’s team’s FIH Pro League title hopes went up in smoke after suffering a hard-fought 1-2 defeat against the Netherlands in the second match of the two-leg tie here on Sunday.
India had lost 1-4 to the Dutch in the shoot-out on Saturday after both sides finished 2-2 at the end of the regulation 60 minutes. The Indians needed an outright win on Sunday to have an outside chance of clinching the title, but it was not to be.
The Netherlands won the FIH Pro League in the men’s section with 35 points from 14 matches, with two games still in hand. Olympic champion Belgium finished second with 35 points from 16 games while India occupied the third spot with 30 points from 16 matches.
The Indians started on a strong note, taking the lead inside 30 seconds with a brilliant field goal by Abhishek. Abhishek collected the ball in the right flank and ran past four defenders to push the ball past Dutch goalkeeper Mauritzs Visser.
India put the Dutch defence under persistent pressure from the start and dominated the early share of exchanges. But, the Netherlands forged its way into the match by levelling the score in the seventh minute through a penalty corner conversion by Jip Janssen.
The Netherlands was patient inside the India circle, and by doing so, secured another penalty corner in the 11th minute, which India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh kept at bay. The Dutch earned three more PCs in the opening quarter but failed to breach the Indian defence. In the 16th minute, India gained a penalty corner but Harmanpreet Singh’s flick was saved by the Dutch custodian.
The third quarter produced enthralling hockey but the teams failed to score till the 45th minute when Jorrit Croon sounded the board from a set-piece. Trailing by a goal, the Indians gave their all in the fourth and final quarter, and created numerous scoring chances in the form of penalty corners but failed to avail the opportunities.
Women’s team loses to Argentina
A valiant India women’s team squandered a one-goal lead to lose 2-3 to Argentina in the second match of the double-leg Pro League tie on Sunday.
Argentina won the FIH Pro League crown, finishing with 42 points from 16 matches, 10 clear of the second-placed Netherlands, which still has two games remaining. The Indians occupy the third position in their debut season with 24 points from 12 matches. In the first match on Saturday, the Indians had dished out a spirited performance to stun Argentina 2-1 in the shoot-out after a 3-3 stalemate in regulation time.
On Sunday, India broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute, scoring through a counter-attack. Salima Tete showed her rapid speed by cutting through the Argentine defence before taking a shot that deflected in off goalkeeper Belen Succi’s stick. After the change of ends, Argentina came out attacking and controlled a major part of the third quarter.
In the 38th minute, Delfine Thome did enough to loop the ball over India goalkeeper Savita after she was set up by Sofia Toccalino’s brilliant run from the right flank. Argentina then scored twice in a span of three minutes from two penalty corners to take a 3-1 lead. Eugenia Trinchinetti first scored from a fantastic variation in the 41st minute and two minutes later, Agustina Gorzelany sounded the board.
But, India was in no mood to go down without a fight as Deep Grace Ekka (46’) scored from a penalty corner with a fierce slap shot.