Underwhelming India wastes chances, goes down to German efficiency

Underwhelming India waste chances, goes down to German efficiency

New Delhi: It was not a happy homecoming for Indian hockey to the national capital with the men’s team losing 2-0 to Germany in the first of two matches of the bilateral series here on Wednesday.

The Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium was hosting an international game after a decade and the expectations of a good competition between two Paris Olympics medalists saw almost 10,000 people turning up on a working afternoon. But the Indian team’s performance left a lot to be desired.

The host seemed to begin well but the ominous signs were there from the start. There was a visible lack of energy and intent even in the opening minutes and the Germans, with typical efficiency, made use of a defensive lapse, going ahead in the 4th minute off a counter-attack that saw Henrik Mertgens, one of the three debutants in the side, get his maiden international goal.

Germany could have gone up 2-0 four minutes later but a penalty corner was overturned after referral and resulted in one for India instead but Varun Kumar could not keep his balance and Sukhjit hit the rebound wide. Fourteen seconds from half time, Germany earned its first PC and captain Lucas Windfeder made no mistaking in slotting it past Suraj Karkera to double the lead.

India had the chances but failed to capitalise. Seven PCs and a penalty stroke, in addition to several half chances and desperate scrambles inside the circle, were all wasted. Varun, Amit Rohidas, Sanjay were all experimented with during PCs and one hopes this was part of coach Craig Fulton’s plan to develop a battery of drag-flickers instead of being solely dependent on Harmanpreet Singh.

The captain himself had an off day. The PS, coming in after Germany appealed against Dilpreet Singh’s opportunistic tap in in the 27th minute, saw Harmanpreet’s weak push coming off Joshua Nnaji Onyekwue’s outstretched pads even though the German Junior World Cup winner dived to the wrong side. Onyekwue, in fact, was impressive all through, bringing off several saves to keep the Indian attack, listless as it was, at bay.

The 2nd half was more of the same and even though they scored no more goals, the German defence managed to deflate any Indian attempt with ease.