FIH pro league: Indian teams end campaigns with losses
London, June 9
Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh showed superhuman reflexes to save a penalty stroke but that was not enough as India, who conceded just 38 seconds into the match, lost 2-3 to Great Britain in the men’s FIH Pro League here today.
The result meant the Craig Fulton-coached India finished their Pro League campaign with a second successive 2-3 loss. India finished with 24 points from 16 games.
Sukhjeet Singh (19th minute) and Harmanpreet Singh (36th) scored for India, while Phil Roper (1st), Jack Waller (37th) and Alan Forsyth (50th) were on target for the hosts. “In every game we always learn. Today we played very well, we created and converted well today. It’s a good lesson before the Olympics,” skipper Harmanpreet said.
Earlier, the women’s side went down fighting 2-3 to Great Britain, extending their run of losses to eight matches.
India played well for the majority of the match before Grace Baldson (56th and 58th minutes) fired a brace to snatch victory for the home team. Three years ago, Badlson had scored the winner against India in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics. India are yet get their first win under coach Harendra Singh. Two calls went against India, leaving Harendra frustrated.
Lalremsiami scored in the 14th minute after Watson Charlotte put Britain ahead with her third-minute strike. Navneet Kaur gave India the lead in the 23rd minute.
“It means a lot to Indian hockey that we keep our place in the Pro League, because otherwise we don’t get enough matches,” said goalkeeper Savita Punia.
