Berlin, June 24 (IANS) The Indian junior men’s hockey team suffered a 1-5 defeat at the hands of Spain in their third and final pool stage match of the ongoing 4 Nations Tournament on Tuesday.

Spain started the encounter on the front foot, striking twice in quick succession in the opening minutes. Pere Amat opened the scoring in the 2nd minute by converting a penalty corner while Santi Martin followed it up with a field goal in the 3rd minute, giving Spain an early 2-0 lead.

Both teams engaged in end-to-end hockey in the second quarter, with India pushing for a breakthrough and Spain looking to extend their lead. However, neither side was able to convert their chances, and the scoreline remained 2-0 in favour of Spain at halftime.

Spain regained control in the third quarter and capitalised on India’s defensive lapses. Pere Amat (42’) added his second goal of the match by converting another penalty corner.

A minute later, Josep Martin (43’) netted a field goal to extend Spain’s lead to 4-0.

In the fourth and final quarter, Spain further widened the gap with a fifth goal through another well-executed penalty corner from Mario Mena (51’). India managed to pull one back almost immediately, as Araijeet Singh Hundal (52’) scored a field goal to reduce the deficit and avoid a clean sweep.

With this result, India concluded their pool stage matches, having previously faced Germany and Australia. The round-robin format of the 4 Nations Tournament sees all four participating teams – India, Germany, Australia, and Spain – play each other once. Based on the standings, the top two teams will contest the Final, while the bottom two teams will battle it out in the 3rd/4th place playoff.

–IANS

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