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India’s dismal run in London continues
India put their best foot forward in the last league match of the four-nation hockey test event, yet they lost to Germany 1-2 at London's Olympic Park Riverside Stadium. HT reports.
India put their best foot forward in the last league match of the four-nation hockey test event, yet they lost to Germany 1-2 at London's Olympic Park Riverside Stadium.
With this win, Germany lead the points table with six points, while Australia and Great Britain have three points each. India are at the bottom without any points.
It was the sloppy defence that had led to defeats against Australia and Britain, but on Saturday, both the defence and forward-line performed well.
India even led by a goal in the opening 15 minutes, but slackness towards the closing stages paved the way for Germany's victory.
With 11 minutes to the long hooter, both teams were level, and a Sardara Singh move soon after hinted that India had the upper hand. But then, the defence collapsed, paving way for Germany's second goal.
The tendency to concede last-minute goals seems to have resurfaced, and coach, Michael Nobbs, has some re-thinking to do.
Earlier, excellent stick-work by Shivendra Singh gave India the lead within the opening 15 minutes, raising hopes of an upset win. However, 12 minutes later, Christopher Wesley leveled the score.
Still, India had a reasonable chance of finishing with the same score-line, but the script changed at the end when Florian Fuchs got the match-winner, and secured Germany's place in the final.
