New Delhi: After losing their European leg opener of the FIH Pro League 1-2 against the Netherlands, the Indian men’s hockey team will look to bounce back from the narrow defeat when it takes on the Dutch men again, in the second game on Monday. India squandered a lead of one goal to lose the opening game to Olympic champions Netherlands on Saturday.
In the early phases of the first half, the Indian side showed promise as captain Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner in the 19th minute to give his side the lead. The Netherlands, however, made a spirited comeback and ultimately took the game away, courtesy of a brace from Thijs van Dam, who scored the equaliser in the 25th minute and struck a late winning goal in the 58th minute, just two minutes before the final whistle.
The Indian team is yet to play seven more games in the competition and currently stands fourth in the points table with 15 points. As the game ended, India’s head coach Craig Fulton reflected on the game, saying that the team did well in the first half and the fourth quarter but lacked in the third.
“We did well in the first half, but the third quarter wasn’t as good. In the fourth quarter, we did well again and were winning the ball, but we weren’t getting any shots on goal. It was unfortunate to lose like that because I thought we could push for a draw. We want to push ourselves as hard as we can, especially against a team like the Netherlands,” PTI quoted Fulton as saying, after the match.
F.T.
Harmanpreet opened the scoring but Thijs van Dam struck twice to secure the win for the Netherlands tonight.
The fight is far from over.
Our boys will be back stronger to avenge this defeat. 💪🏻🇮🇳🇳🇱 NED 2-1 IND 🇮🇳#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame
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.@CMO_Odisha… pic.twitter.com/2BgtovXHLr— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) June 7, 2025
India’s road ahead
The Indian men’s current aim is to seal a World Cup spot for next year, which is presently up for grabs. The Men in Blue will look to do well in the remaining matches and accumulate maximum points against the challenging opponents. India played the home leg of the ongoing Pro League in Bhubaneswar earlier this year, in which they amassed 15 points with five wins in eight games.
The Indian men’s hockey team will be seeking revenge when they again take the field against the Netherlands, in the second match of the European leg of the FIH Pro League in Amstelveen on Monday. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
