~ Indian ahead Abhishek, who was enjoying his one hundredth worldwide match, netted a aim alongside Jugraj Singh ~
Amstelveen, ninth June 2025: The Indian Males’s Hockey Group went down preventing 2-3 towards the Netherlands in an exhilarating FIH Hockey Professional League 2024/25 (Males’s) on the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands. Abhishek (20′) and Jugraj Singh (54′) netted a aim every for India, whereas Thijs van Dam (24’), Tjep Hoedemakers (33’), and Jip Janssen (57’) have been the goalscorers for the Netherlands.
India started the primary quarter with a transparent intent to regulate the sport, sustaining possession and executing fast passes to penetrate the opposition’s defence early on. Within the sixth minute, ahead Abhishek practically put India forward when he discovered area contained in the D and unleashed a robust shot that narrowly missed the goal. The Netherlands responded with a change to counter-attacking play, creating just a few scoring probabilities of their very own. Nonetheless, the Indian defence held agency below stress, calmly absorbing the assaults whereas persevering with to problem the Dutch backline on the different finish. Regardless of the fast-paced, end-to-end motion, the opening quarter ended goalless.
The second quarter noticed the Netherlands ramp up their depth, adopting a extra aggressive method and practically taking the lead with two shut possibilities in fast succession. However India remained composed, sticking to their possession-based technique and dictating the tempo by midfield management. The guests additionally received their first penalty nook of the match, however Harmanpreet Singh’s shot was deflected out. India’s persistence lastly paid off when Abhishek (twentieth), enjoying his milestone one hundredth worldwide match, broke free from his marker and completed clinically after receiving a wonderfully timed move from Shilanand Lakra, giving India a 1-0 lead.
Nonetheless, the benefit was short-lived as simply 4 minutes later, Dutch skipper Thierry Brinkman showcased his class with a blinding run into the circle earlier than organising Thijs van Dam (24’), who calmly slotted the ball house to make it 1-1. The rest of the quarter noticed each side probing for openings, however the defences held agency because the groups went into the half-time break degree.
The Netherlands got here out with intent within the third quarter, urgent excessive and disrupting India’s rhythm by intercepting passes in midfield. Their aggressive method paid off in when Floris Wortelboer delivered a pointy cross from the left flank to Tjep Hoedemakers (33’), whose tame shot narrowly slipped previous Indian goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak to provide the hosts a 2-1 lead. Buoyed by the aim, the Netherlands maintained the stress and earned their first penalty nook of the match, however didn’t convert. India, in the meantime, shifted to a counter-attacking technique and earned a flurry of penalty corners in fast succession, but couldn’t discover the equaliser. The penultimate quarter concluded with the Netherlands holding a slender 2-1 benefit.
The fourth and last quarter noticed India intensify their efforts, stringing collectively fast passes and making a number of entries into the Dutch circle in pursuit of an equaliser. With below seven minutes left on the clock, Abhishek got here agonisingly near scoring once more as he beat his marker and unleashed a robust shot that struck the aspect netting. India continued to pile on the stress and have been ultimately rewarded with their fourth penalty nook of the match. This time, Jugraj Singh (54’) stepped up and made no mistake, hammering the ball into the online to degree the rating at 2-2.
Moments later, India had a golden probability to take the lead when Lalit Kumar Upadhyay discovered himself one-on-one with Dutch goalkeeper Maurits Visser. Making an attempt a cheeky scoop over the keeper, Lalit was denied by Visser’s alert reflexes. The Netherlands responded swiftly and made probably the most of a penalty nook earned within the dying moments of the sport as Jip Janssen (57’) transformed it to revive the house aspect’s lead. India threw every little thing ahead within the last minutes, however the Dutch defence held agency to seal an exhilarating 3-2 victory.
Notably, the match marked a big milestone for ahead Abhishek, who was enjoying his one hundredth worldwide match for India since making his senior group debut in 2022. The 25-year-old has been an important a part of the Indian assault, scoring 39 worldwide objectives to this point. His contributions have been instrumental in India’s main successes, together with the Gold medal on the Hero Asian Champions Trophy China 2024, Bronze on the Paris 2024 Olympics, Silver on the 2022 Commonwealth Video games in Birmingham, and Gold on the Asian Video games Hangzhou 2022.
India are at present fourth within the factors tally having gathered 15 factors from 10 video games. They are going to be subsequent seen in motion towards Argentina on eleventh June.
All of the FIH Professional League 2024-25 (Males) matches might be streamed stay on Jio Hotstar and broadcast on Star Sports activities Choose.
