Harendra fumes as India succumb to Schopman's Germany

BHUBANESWAR: It was another poor day in the office for the Indian women's hockey team as they went down to Germany 0-4 in their fifth match of the FIH Pro League at Kalinga Stadium here on Friday evening.

The two teams faced off thrice last year and India always gave them a fight including in the Olympic qualifiers in Ranchi where Germany won in the shoot-outs.

But on Friday, the hosts didn't stand a chance as Germany - coached by India's former coach Janneke Schopman - completely overpowered the Indians in a match that was affected for some time by a heavy downpour.

Coach Harendra Singh wasn't happy with what he saw and did not mince his words after the game.

"I think they had too much respect for the opponents. You cannot just go into the shell. You have to learn from the discussions in the dressing room. And you have to show the character that you are hungry to win the game," said Harendra after the match.

"We have far better fitness than them, but we did not play like that. We gave them the first two quarters and then tried to come back."

Earlier, Germany had come out all guns blazing and took a 2-0 lead early in the first half. Amelie Wortmann and Sophia Schwabe scored in the 3rd and the 18th minutes respectively and it could have been more considering they had won five penalty corners.

Harendra was also critical of the fact that the team failed to play to the conditions. "If there's rain, the pitch will be heavy, and the ball will behave differently. But they were waiting when they should have started intercepting the ball," he said.

They did try but Germany scored two more goals in the final quarter - Schwabe in the 47th minute and Johanna Hachenberg in the 59th - to wrap up the game in style.

While the heavy loss will be a hard pill to digest, Harendra believes the team would have won if they played to their potential. They will get a chance on Saturday to show that but coming back from this loss won't be easy.

Stay updated on the latest sports news and know how to watch ICC Champions Trophy live in Canada and the USA, including the much-awaited India vs Pakistan clash, India vs Bangladesh and India vs New Zealand.