Breda [Netherlands], May 24 : After a narrow 2-2 (4-2 SO) penalty shootout victory and a 2-3 loss to Belgium over the first two matches, the Indian Junior Men's Hockey Team took on Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push in the third game of their European tour and lost 4-5. Captain Rohit (18'), Sourabh Anand Khushwaha (24'), Ankit Pal (32'), and Arshdeep Singh (58') got on the scoresheet for India but were unable to overturn the 5-goal deficit.
Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push began the game on the front foot, earning a penalty corner and scoring from it in just over a minute. In the very next minute, before India could regain their footing, Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push overpowered the defence to score another penalty corner goal. The Indian Colts resisted the initial pressure and attempted to score themselves but fell short as Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push held firm and finished the first quarter, 2-0 ahead.
India, determined to gain a foothold in the game, earned a penalty stroke as the second quarter began and Captain Rohit stepped up to score from the spot. The respite was short-lived as Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push bounced back to earn another penalty corner and breached India's goal again. With five minutes left in the first half, India's Sourabh Anand Khushwaha scored through a penalty corner to reduce the deficit back to a goal again heading into the second half.
A splendid comeback seemed on the cards as Ankit Pal scored a field goal as the third quarter commenced to make the score level at 3-3 but Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push took control of the game and went on to restore their lead in the 42nd minute and end the quarter 4-3 in their favour.
The intensity stepped up a notch in the final quarter and as India continued to look for a chink in Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push's defence, Arshdeep Singh breached the net in the 58th minute to make it 4-4. However, Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push refused to give up and scored in the last minute to win the match 5-4.
The Indian Junior Men's Hockey Team will play their next match against Germany in Monchengladbach on May 28.
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