Resurgent India ready for German challenge

Bhubaneswar, Feb 17: After a mixed start to their FIH Pro League 2024-25 campaign, the Indian men’s hockey team, led by captain Harmanpreet Singh, is ready to take on Germany in its upcoming matches at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium here. Having bounced back from a 3-1 loss to Spain in their opener with a commanding 2-0 win in the second game, India are eager to continue their winning momentum against the German side.
With three points from two games, India currently sit in eighth place in the standings and will be looking to climb higher.
One key area of focus for the team is improving their penalty corner conversion rate. Despite winning seven penalty corners across their two games against Spain, India failed to convert any of these opportunities into goals. The hosts will aim to sharpen their execution in set-pieces as they prepare for the challenge ahead.
Dilpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh and Sukhjeet Singh have each netted a goal for the Men in Blue so far in the tournament and will be looking to add to their tally against Germany.
Germany, who will be playing their first match of the India leg, are placed just above India in seventh place with four points from four games and they will be determined to turn their fortunes around. Although they have won only one match in the tournament so far, their attack has been spearheaded by Raphael Hartkopf, Gonzalo Peillat and Thies Prinz, who have each scored two goals. Germany will aim to turn around their struggling campaign and secure vital points in this closely contested fixture. The two sides last met during a two-match Test series in New Delhi in October 2024, where Germany won the first game 2-0, but India bounced back in the second with a thrilling 5-3 victory. However, Germany went on to claim the series through a shootout win, adding extra intensity to this latest matchup in the FIH Pro League.
Speaking on the upcoming matches, India captain Harmanpreet Singh stated, “We are looking forward to our games against Germany. They are a quality team, and we know we need to bring our best performance to the field.” “After the positive result against Spain, our confidence is high, but we know there’s still work to be done’. (IANS)