Indian mens hockey team lost to Great Britain 2-3 in their 16th and last match of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023-24 at Lee Valley Hockey Stadium in London today. The Indian mens team, which finished fourth with 24 points, is most likely to slip down further with Great Britain, Belgium and Germany yet to complete their campaign.
Out of their 16 matches, Indian men won five, lost five and drew six. They won three, lost one and drew four during the home leg, which took place in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela earlier this year from February 10 to 20. But during the European leg, the performance of the Indian team proved to be below par as they lost four, won two and drew two.
The 24-member Indian mens team for the European leg featured ace defender Amit Rohidas as the only player from Odisha. Ace drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh led the team with midfielder Hardik Singh as his deputy.
INDIAN MENS HOCKEY TEAM: Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak; Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay, Jugraj Singh, Vishnukant Singh; Midfielders: Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Hardik Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Mohd. Raheel Mouseen; Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal and Boby Singh Dhami. Head Coach: Craig Fulton.
RESULTS:
22 May 2024 (Match 9, Antwerp, Belgium): India (Mandeep Singh 11-FG, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay 55-FG) drew with Argentina (Lucas Martinez 20-PC, Tomas Domene 60-PC) 2-2. Shoot-out: India (Sukhjeet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh) beat Argentina (Maico Casella, Tobias Martins, Lucas Toscani, Maico Casella) 5-4.
24 May 2024 (Match 10, Antwerp, Belgium): India (Abhishek 55-FG) lost to Belgium (Felix Denayer 22-FG, Alexander Hendrickx 34-PC, 60-PS, Cedric Charlier 49-FG) 4-1.
25 May 2024 (Match 11, Antwerp, Belgium): India (Araijeet Singh Hundal 11-FG, Sukhjeet Singh 57-FG) drew with Belgium (Felix Denayer 30-PC, Florent Van Aubel 50-PC) 2-2. Shootout: India (Sukhjeet Singh) lost to Belgium (William Ghislain, Florent Van Aubel, Gauthier Boccard) 1-3.
26 May 2024 (Match 12, Antwerp, Belgium): India (Araijeet Singh Hundal 7-FG, Gurjant Singh 18-FG, Harmanpreet Singh 29-PC, 50-PS, 52-PS) beat Argentina (Federico Monja 3-FG, Nicolas Keenan 24-PC, Tadeo Marcucci 54-FG, Lucas Martinez 57-FG) 5-4.
1 June 2024 (Match 13, London, England): India (Harmanpreet Singh 16-PC, Sukhjeet Singh 41-FG, Gurjant Singh 44-FG) beat Germany 3-0.
2 June 2024 (Match 14, London, England): India (Abhishek 35-FG) lost to Great Britain (Nicholas Bandurak 2-FG, 11-FG, Will Calnan 47-FG) 1-3.
8 June 2024 (Match 15, London, England): India (Harmanpreet Singh 19-PC, Sukhjeet Singh 48-FG) lost to Germany (Gonzalo Peillat 2-PC, 33-PC, Christopher Rurh 10-FG) 2-3.
9 June 2024 (Match 16, London, England): India (Sukhjeet Singh 19-FG, Harmanpreet Singh 36-PS) lost to Great Britain (Phil Roper 1-FG, Jack Waller 37-FG, Alan Forsyth 50-FG) 2-3.