In stunning start, Indian men's hockey team blanks Germany 6-1
India are touring Germany for a four-match series in their first overseas trip in over a year. Vivek Prasad’s double helped register a big win over the hosts in the opener.
The Indian men’s hockey team began their European tour on a perfect note as it won 6-1 against hosts Germany in Krefeld on Sunday.
A brace from 2019 FIH Rising star Vivek Sagar Prasad and further goals from Nilakanta Sharma, Lalit Upadhyay, Akashdeep Singh and Harmanpreet Singh made it a memorable day for India in their first competitive match since the FIH Pro League in March last year.
The Indian hockey team began on the front foot as they mounted attacks on the German goal. They earned a penalty corner in the 13th minute, which Nilakanta Sharma scored to give India the lead just before the first quarter ended.
However, German striker Constantin Staib equalised just a minute later to ensure that the teams went into the short break on even terms.
Germany attacked from the get-go in the second quarter, winning two consecutive penalty corners but veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh – leading the team in the absence of Manpreet Singh – combined with the defence to keep the ball out.
The Indian hockey team then hit Germany on the counter-attack towards the end of the first half as forward Vivek Prasad nipped in to restore India’s lead in the 27th minute.
Incredibly, Vivek Prasad then scored his second goal within seconds of the first to give the visitors a two-goal cushion into the first-half.
India were pegged back in the third quarter as Germany won as many as six penalty corners but PR Sreejesh was resolute in defending the goal and did not allow a single shot in.
The world No. 4 Indian hockey team then complemented those efforts from skipper Sreejesh as strikers Lalit Upadhyay and Akashdeep Singh scored twice in two minutes to help the team to a massive 5-1 lead.
Vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh then made it 6-1 in the fourth quarter when he flicked home a penalty corner. Germany tried to pull back a goal, even swapping out their goalkeeper for an outfield player in the closing stages, but were unable to do so.
“It was absolutely thrilling to play after so long and the coach's advice to us was 'go and enjoy the game' and so we did,” PR Sreejesh said after the match.
“I feel we did well against this squad, considering we were playing after a year,” he added. “We had worked a lot on individual skills and had planned tactical play against Germany back in the camp. We just had to execute it today and it was really exciting to be back with a win.”
The Indian hockey team will take on Germany in their second match on Tuesday.
Where to watch India vs Germany hockey live?
Live streaming of the second India vs Germany hockey match will be available on the Watch.Hockey website and app. The match begins at 8.30 PM Indian Standard Time.