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India men's junior hockey team suffered their first loss in the 4 Nations Junior Men's Tournament as they lost 2-3 against the hosts Germany on Saturday at Duesseldorf.
India came into this match after staging a thrilling comeback against Spain in the opening match of the tournament. The team came from 0-2 behind to win 6-2 against Spain. However, they could not replicate the result against the hosts.
In the first half, India began on a high note as Sudeep Chirmako scored within 10 minutes of the game. He struck the back of the net in the 7th minute of the match.
Both teams defended well in the second quarter. The quarter remained goalless and India led by 1-0 after the first half. Germany tried to breach the Indian defence multiple times but failed to do so in the first 30 minutes.
In the second half, Germany opted to counter-attack. They searched for the equalizer and finally found it in the 41st minute of the match by Michel Struthoff.
In the final quarter, both teams increased their pace but it was the host side that emerged victorious in the attempt. Ben Hasbach put Germany ahead in the 53rd minute while Florian Sperling extended the lead in the 55th minute of the match.
Sudeep Chirmako scored twice for India against hosts Germany in 2nd match of 4 Nations Junior Men's Tournament
Sudeep Chirmako was the star performer for India against Germany's men's side on Saturday. Sudeep scored the first goal of the match in the 7th minute, which helped India to stay on top after the first half.
While Germany found the target thrice in the second half, Chirmako gave a glimpse of hope for the visitors by scoring in the final moments of the match. Though the team had lost, he surely did make heads turn with his performance.
India will be back in action for their final league match of the 4 Nations Junior Men's Tournament on Monday. They will take on England at 1:30 PM IST.
