Mumbai, February 17: Their campaign back on track after a jittery start, India will look to continue the winning momentum when they take on Paris Olympics silver medallist Germany in their next men's FIH Pro League match here on Tuesday. India had a woeful start to their home leg matches of the Pro League, losing 1-3 to Spain in their opener. But the hosts bounced back strongly to tame Spain 2-0 in the return match on Sunday. With three points from two games, India are currently sitting in eighth place in the standings and will be desperate to climb up the table. India Men's Hockey Team Beats Spain 2–0 in FIH Pro League 2024–25; Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh on Scoresheet.

After a relatively off day on Saturday, the Indians looked a completely different side on Sunday, dominating for most part of the match and scoring two field goals through Mandeep Singh (32nd minute) and Dilpreet Singh (39th) to pocket all three points. While the strikers shone bright in the second game, India's chief coach Craig Fulton would be a bit concerned about penalty corner conversions.

Despite winning seven penalty corners across their two games, India failed to convert a single chance. In the absence of India captain Harmanpreet Singh, who was rested for the second match, Hockey India League star performer Jugraj Singh cut a sorry figure from set pieces.

The forward-line comprising Dilpreet , Mandeep and Sukhjeet Singh have each netted a goal for India so far in the tournament and will be looking to add to their tally against Germany. The Indian defence produced a much-better display in the second game, and were able to absorb pressure from the Spanish strikers. Indian Women’s Hockey Team Aims To Return to Winning Ways As It Gears Up To Face Spain in FIH Pro League 2024–25.

Germany, who will be playing their first match of the India leg, are placed just above India in seventh place with four points from as many games and will be determined to turn their fortunes around. Although Germany have won only one match in the tournament so far, their attack has been spearheaded by Raphael Hartkopf, Gonzalo Peillat, and Thies Prinz, who have scored two goals each.

Germany will aim to turn around their struggling campaign and secure vital points. The two sides last met during a two-match Test series in New Delhi in October 2024, where Germany won the first game 2-0, but India bounced back in the second with a thrilling 5-3 victory.

However, Germany went on to claim the series through a shootout win.

Speaking on the upcoming matches, Harmanpreet said, "We are looking forward to our games against Germany. They are a quality team, and we know we need to bring our best performance to the field. FIH Hockey Pro League 2024–25: Spain Hand 3–1 Loss to India in Campaign Opener.

"After the positive result against Spain, our confidence is high, but we know there's still work to be done. One of our main focuses is improving our penalty corner conversion, as it's crucial to make the most of those opportunities in tight matches."

"The team is motivated and ready to build on the momentum from our last game. We've learned from both the matches, and we're determined to bring our best performance to the field," he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)