RAIPUR: Brushing aside the disappointing show against Argentina in the tournament opener, hosts India produced a much-improved performance as they held Olympic champions Germany to a 1-1 draw in their second Pool B match of the Hockey World League (HWL) Final, here today.
Although India were by far the better side on display today, it was the Germans, who struck first in the sixth minute through a field goal from Niklas Wellen.
The hosts then put relentless pressure on a strong German defence that crumbled in the 47th minute when Akashdeep Singh restored parity.
Unlike yesterday’s match against Argentina, the Indians showed more urgency from the word go today and attacked the German defence with much more purpose and intent thereby creating more opportunities than their rivals.
Contrary to Germany’s lead, India were the dominant force in the first half. The hosts enjoyed superior ball possession and also had the much higher number of shots at the goal than their opposition.
India’s first real scoring chance came in the third minute when Chinglensana Singh came close to giving India the lead but his feeble push from inside the circle was easily padded away by the German goalie Andreas Spack. (AGENCIES)
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