Hockey: India Women suffer third straight defeat to Germany

The Indian Women's hockey team suffered a 2-0 defeat against Germany in the third match of their Germany tour in Dusseldorf on Tuesday. Goals from Sonja Zimmermann (26’) and Franzisca Hauke (42’) sealed the match in the hosts' favour.

This was India's third consecutive defeat against their much higher-ranked opponents. After losing the first match of the tour 5-0, India put up an improved show in the second match which they lost narrowly (1-0). But they could not breach the German defence in the third match as well.

The Germans were on the front foot from the first whistle on Sunday but were frustrated by a gritty Indian defence who did not provide space to manoeuvre for their opponents. They dominated the midfield but lacked imagination in the attacking third.

Building on a strong defensive show in the first two quarters, the Indian team started to foray into the attacking third with purpose and intent in the third quarter. That led to open spaces at the back which Germany looked to capitalise.

Germany earned their third penalty corner of the match soon enough and Zimmerman made no mistake to convert and hand her team the lead.

After breaking the deadlock, the third-ranked side in the world continued to test India's defensive resolve with waves of attacks. Their efforts were paid off once again and they went on to double their lead before the end of the third quarter through midfielder Hauke.

In the final quarter, the India eves threw the kitchen sink at the Germans in search of a goal. On one occasion, Salima was through on goal but could not make the opportunity count. Germany were also looking to counter at every given chance, which meant India had to remain cautious and could not commit many bodies in the attacking third.

India will go up against Germany for the final time in the four-match series on Thursday afternoon.