The Indian men's hockey team's struggles in the FIH Pro League 2024-25 continued as they suffered a 2-3 defeat against Australia at the Sportcentrum Wilrijkse Plein in Antwerp, Belgium, on Sunday. This marked their sixth consecutive loss in the European leg of the Pro League. The match was especially significant as it was Manpreet Singh's 400th international appearance, making him only the second Indian man to reach this milestone after Dilip Tirkey (412 caps).
India started the match strongly, with Sanjay capitalizing on a rebound from a penalty corner in the 3rd minute to give his team an early lead. However, Australia responded swiftly, with Tim Brand leveling the score in the 4th minute and Blake Govers adding another goal just a minute later to turn the game around. Cooper Burns further extended Australia's lead in the 18th minute, leaving India trailing 3-1.
Despite the deficit, India showed resilience in the second half. In the 36th minute, a clever assist from Abhishek set up Dilpreet Singh for a well-executed field goal, narrowing the gap to 3-2. India continued to fight hard in the final quarter, creating a few half-chances, but the Australian defense remained firm, preventing them from finding the equalizer.
Reflecting on the match, Manpreet Singh acknowledged the team's disappointment with the result. "It is unfortunate we have lost six back-to-back matches here," he said. "It has never happened before, but if you see, all these games have been very close and we have done well overall, but have not been able to finish well. This is something we will deliberate on and try to bounce back in the upcoming matches."
Australia's goals were scored by Tim Brand (4'), Blake Govers (5'), and Cooper Burns (18'), while Sanjay (3') and Dilpreet Singh (36') were the scorers for India. Despite the loss, India had moments of brilliance, particularly in the early stages of the game and during their second-half comeback attempt. However, they were ultimately unable to overcome Australia's strong defense and capitalize on their opportunities.
With this result, India now sits seventh in the FIH Pro League 2024-25 standings with 15 points from 14 matches. The team will be looking to end their losing streak in their final two matches against Belgium next Saturday and Sunday.
