By Prabhjot Singh | Netherlands |
India squandered a 2-1 lead to lose 4-2 to England in the FIH Hockey World Cup at Wagener Stadium in Amsterdam on Monday (Aug 17), suffering their first defeat of the tournament.
The victory took England to the top of the table with six points from two matches, while India remain second with three points. Earlier, Pakistan and Wales played out a 3-3 draw, leaving both on one point.
India’s final group match against Pakistan on Wednesday now assumes added significance, with Pakistan needing a win to remain in contention for a quarterfinal place. India hold an advantage on goal difference.
England struck first in the 14th minute when Stuart Rushmere controlled an aerial pass before setting up Nicholas Bandurak, who beat goalkeeper Suraj Kerketta with a neat finish.
India responded from their first penalty corner in the 17th minute, captain Harmanpreet Singh converting to make it 1-1. Dilpreet Singh then put India ahead in the 25th minute after combining with Abhishek, giving India a 2-1 lead at half-time.
England turned the match around after the break. Rushmere deflected home a cross in the 40th minute to level the scores before Henry Croft struck three minutes later to put England 3-2 ahead.
India had an opportunity to equalise from a penalty corner in the 47th minute, but Harmanpreet’s flick was saved.
England sealed the result in the 55th minute when Bandurak converted a penalty corner for his second goal of the match, completing the 4-2 victory.
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(Prabhjot Singh is a veteran journalist with over three decades of experience of 14 years with Reuters News and 30 years with The Tribune Group. He has covered Punjab and Sikh affairs for more than three decades besides covering seven Olympics)
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