DAY 1 10th June: India Vs Germany

Olympic and World League champions Germany began their Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 title defence with a 3-3 draw against India, fighting back from 3-1 down to claim a point at the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre in London.

The first goal of the Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 was scored by the Indians, with powerful defender VR Raghunath sending a ferocious penalty corner flying into the net after just seven minutes of play before 20-year-old rising Germany star Tom Grambusch restored parity with a penalty corner of his own four minutes from half time.

India moved back into the lead almost immediately when SV Sunil burst down the right before supplying to the perfectly positioned Mandeep Singh, who produced the vital touch in front of goal.

The Asian champions took their advantage to 3-1 shortly after half time when Harmanpreet Singh fired home a penalty corner, but another Grambusch penalty corner reduced the deficit ahead of the final quarter.

India’s narrow lead lasted until three minutes from the end of the contest, with Jonas Gomoll completing the scoring with an expertly taken penalty stroke awarded after an initial shot was blocked on the goal-line.

We had our opportunities and we could have finished the match earlier, but we missed some really good chances in the last quarter”, said India’s Raghunath after the match. “It’s ok, a draw is a good thing against Germany, but we want to do even better going forward.”

Germany’s Oskar Deecke was reasonably satisfied with a draw, but hinted that there is more to come from his Germany team. “It was a good start against a good team, and we fought back well I think. It was a fair result, but we want to come back stronger for tomorrow’s match against Belgium.”