In a much-anticipated match at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium on October 23, 2024, India’s men’s hockey team faced a tough challenge against Germany, resulting in a 2-0 defeat. This match was one of the international hockey games after being held in Delhi for a decade. That said, India, who started as favorites and had the benefit of playing at home, seemed to miss multiple chances in the entire match.

Germany got off to a good start when, from the initial stage, in the fourth minute, to be precise, Henrik Mertens beat India’s defense through the confusion and scored. The visitors came and. gained pressure and added another goal to the score from Lukas Windfeder just before the break. India’s attempts at goal were thwarted by Germany’s solid defense and goalkeeper Onyekwue’s critical saves.

India got at least eight opportunity to alter the game’s tint and yet they converted none of the penalty corners and a penalty stroke as well. Captain Harmanpreet Singh’s missed penalty stroke was a significant turning point as India sought to equalize but couldn’t break through Germany’s defensive setup.

Despite absence of Gonzalo Peillat and Christopher Ruhr, Germany presented a team including the junior World Champions and the Olympic silver medalists, who well performed and delivered their tactics. Their discipline established that there is still much India needs to do regarding players’ finishing and methods of play.

The match was of much importance to Indian hockey since it was keeping with the team’s recent achievements at the Olympics. But this defeat helped India a lot and showed directions a team needs to work more on as they get ready for any international competition. It was hard for India to control the midfield due to the unavailability of its main midfielder, Hardik Singh, because of injury.

In the future, India will have to take stock and prepare itself for the next match against Germany in this two-nation bilateral series. India will look to fine-tune tactics for the next battle and make better use of the attacking prowess that could have been so profitable in this match but fell by the wayside in the hands of the infinitely more experienced Australians.

This series is very vital for India to prepare before the international cricket tournaments. That’s why one of the main metrics they will have to look at is the conversion of chances into goals. Fans are keenly waiting to see how does India perform in their next match against Germany as they look forward for a better show and enhance their team’s position in international hockey rankings.