on the day Manpreet Singh Having equaled Dilip Turki’s long-standing record of 412 international appearances – the most by an Indian – the Indian men’s hockey team failed to rise to the occasion and started their European league of the FIH Pro League with a defeat.Despite a much better performance than they did in the first eight matches earlier this year, Craig Fulton’s men were beaten 3-2 by the Netherlands in Rotterdam on Sunday.Dalpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh scored goals for India, while Mel Buckins, Koen Bijan and Tejmin Reenga scored goals for Holland. However, the margin could have been bigger had it not been for Suraj Carquera, who had a superb goal during the first half, ensuring the Netherlands failed to convert any of their first 10 penalty corners.His performance even drew praise from former India goalkeeper and two-time Olympic bronze medalist PR Sreejesh at X. He said that reducing the number of penalty corners will be an area that India need to address before their next game. “We definitely need to improve on the ball. We gave away too many penalty corners, but at the same time, we did a good job defending them,” Fulton said at halftime.“On the counter, like I said, I wanted to see us try – and there were some good moments, including a couple of one-on-ones. We just need to be better on the ball in our own half and do a better job there.”Earlier, the Netherlands took the lead in the third minute through Bickens, but India equalized in the 10th minute when Dalpreet’s shot was deflected into the net by a Dutch defender. Beijing restored the home team’s lead eight minutes into the second quarter.Three minutes into the second half, India equalized again after Hardik Singh won his first penalty corner. Harmanpreet Singh Opted for a change, went to Hardik, who set up Sukhjeet for a simple finish. However, the Dutch were not satisfied with the draw and eventually converted a penalty corner in the 40th minute after failing to score in their first 10 attempts. India went all out in the closing minutes and even pulled their goalkeeper, but the Dutch held firm to prevent India from converting their late penalty corner and secured the win.Captain Harmanpreet did not disappoint in the defeat despite creating chances and being involved in both India’s goals.“The result was not good but it was our first match after a long time and it is always exciting to play against a strong team,” he said after the match.India will now have a two-day break before taking on Germany in back-to-back matches on Wednesday and Thursday.
