Indian junior men’s hockey team suffered a 1-5 defeat against Spain in its third and final pool stage match of the Four Nations Tournament in Berlin on Tuesday.
Spain started the encounter on the front foot, striking twice in quick succession in the opening minutes. Pere Amat opened the scoring in the second minute by converting a penalty corner, while Santi Martin followed it up with a field goal in the third minute.
Both teams engaged in end-to-end hockey in the second quarter, with India pushing for a breakthrough and Spain looking to extend its lead. However, neither side was able to convert its chances, and the scoreline remained 2-0 in favour of Spain at halftime.
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Spain capitalised on India’s defensive lapses in the third quarter. Amat (42’) added his second goal of the match by converting another penalty corner. A minute later, Josep Martin (43’) netted a field goal to extend Spain’s lead to 4-0.
In the fourth and final quarter, Spain further widened the gap with a fifth goal through another well-executed penalty corner from Mario Mena (51’). India managed to pull one back almost immediately, as Araijeet Singh Hundal (52’) scored a field goal to reduce the deficit.
With this result, India concluded its pool stage matches, having previously faced Germany and Australia.