The Indian men’s hockey team was engaged in a 1-1 draw with Germany in Krefeld on Tuesday evening. After the highs of defeating the German side by a bigger margin three days ago, the draw may tend to suggest the Indians played below par.
However, from information gathered, both sides are not playing their best XIs. From the point of view of preparing for the postponed Tokyo Olympics, India’s exposure tour to Europe, backed by support from the Indian government, needs to be seen in the right perspective.
In the absence of Manpreet Singh, who got married last December, PR Sreejesh is leading the side. In addition, few more changes are being tried out as well with SV Sunil and Rupinder Pal Singh also not selected. Hockey India will hopefully be selecting them for future tours as they are part of the national camp.
India opened their tally in the fourth minute when Jarmanpreet Singh (see photo) scored. Martin Häner restored parity for the hosts.
For the Indian side, which is playing abroad for first the time this season after a long break due to the pandemic, this was an opportunity to learn. They did play with aggression but were met with stiff resistance from the German side.
The final quarter saw some nail-biting moments when both teams showed positive intent. However, no goals were scored. “This match was a good experience for our players. It was a tough match and the team worked hard. Both teams created opportunities and I believe we will learn a lot from this game,” said Indian coach Graham Reid.
As part of the exposure tour, the Indian side will play Britain next on Saturday. In all, two matches have been scheduled with them.
