FIH pro league: Indian men overcome slow start to beat Ireland

The Indian men’s hockey team overcame a one-goal deficit to beat Ireland 3-1 in the FIH Hockey Pro League here on Friday.

Harmanpreet Singh’s side were stunned in the eighth minute when Jeremy Duncan scored from a field effort. But the Indians bounced back strongly, scoring a field goal through Mandeep Singh in the 22nd minute.

Jarmanpreet Singh (45th) and Sukhjeet Singh (58th) then scored a goal each from penalty corners to guide India to a convincing win.

India will take on Ireland in the return leg on Saturday. India are currently placed fifth in the standings with nine points from five games.

Women lose to Germany

The Indian women’s hockey team continued to disappoint as it lost 0-4 to Germany.

The Germans controlled the match from start to finish, scoring their first three goals — all field efforts — through Amelie Wortmann (3rd minute) and Sophia Schwabe (18th, 47th) before Johanne Hachenberg converted a penalty corner in the 59th minute. The Germans secured as many as 10 penalty corners in the match as against India’s two. India will play Germany again on Saturday. India are placed seventh in the nine-team standings on six points from four games, while Germany are a rung above on seven points from six games.