Harmanpreet Singh-led India suffered a 3-1 defeat against hosts Netherlands in their opening Pool E match of the second round at the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen on Saturday (Aug 22). The loss has made India’s path to the semi-finals more difficult, while the Netherlands booked their place in the last four with the win.
The hosts took control of the match with goals from Duco Telgenkamp, Tjep Hoedemakers and Thijs van Dam. Harmanpreet Singh scored India’s only goal.
The Netherlands started strongly, with Telgenkamp opening the scoring and putting pressure on the Indian defence. India created several attacking chances but struggled to turn them into goals.
Harmanpreet then equalised to give India hope of a comeback. However, the Dutch team continued to dominate and regained their lead through Hoedemakers before van Dam added another goal to make it 3-1.
India tried to fight back in the final stages and created opportunities, but they could not break through the Netherlands defence.
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The victory helped the Netherlands top Pool E and secure a semi-final spot. India are still in the race but will now need favourable results in the remaining matches to keep their hopes alive.
India will look to recover in their next game as they continue their World Cup campaign.

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