Rotterdam, June 19 (IANS) The Indian men’s hockey team put up a strong fight against reigning world champions Germany but narrowly went down 1-2 in their third match of the FIH Pro League 2025-26 Rotterdam leg on Friday (IST).

Jugraj Singh (38’) marked his 100th international appearance with a goal, before late strikes from Justus Weigand (56’) and Jakob Brilla (60’) turned the game in Germany’s favour.

India started the game on the front foot, controlling possession and building early momentum to keep Germany under pressure. With a compact defensive structure, India denied the World Champions space and restricted them from creating clear-cut chances.

The Indian side raised the intensity in the second quarter with an aggressive high press, forcing errors from Germany. Abhishek created India’s best chance of the first half after a well-worked build-up, but the opportunity went unfinished.

In a tightly contested match where chances were limited, India continued to dominate possession and were rewarded in the third quarter. After earning their first penalty corner of the game, India took the lead through Jugraj Singh, who marked his milestone 100th appearance with a powerful drag-flick in the 38th minute.

Germany earned a couple of penalty corners towards the end of the third quarter, but goalkeeper Mohith HS stood firm to ensure India carried their one-goal advantage into the final period.

India had opportunities to extend their lead in the final quarter, with penalty corners and an open-play chance for Shilanand Lakra. However, Germany fought back and found the equaliser in the 56th minute through Justus Weigand, who converted a penalty corner to make it 1-1.

With just seconds remaining on the clock, Germany earned another penalty corner and Jakob Brilla found the winning goal in the 60th minute to seal a 2-1 victory for the world champions.

India will take on the Netherlands in their next match on Sunday.