India A men’s hockey team endured a narrow 2-3 defeat to England in Amstelveen, Netherlands, marking its second consecutive loss on an otherwise promising European tour. Despite goals from young forwards Maninder Singh and Uttam Singh, India A couldn’t overcome the challenge posed by the World No. 5 side at the iconic Wagener Stadion.
The defeat follows a string of encouraging performances earlier in the tour, where India A began with three successive victories. However, the level of competition has steadily intensified, with the last two matches ending in tightly contested losses.
“We initially had three really good wins on this tour, and now two really close losses,” said head coach Shivendra Singh after the game. “We knew that as the tour progressed, we would face tougher competition and teams. We are now taking each game as it comes and learning from it as we progress. We still have three games left against two really good teams and are now looking forward to playing those.”
India A showed signs of resilience and flair against a disciplined England side, managing to keep the game closely fought throughout. Maninder Singh and Uttam Singh continued to impress, adding to their growing reputations as rising stars in Indian hockey. However, England capitalized on defensive lapses and maintained composure under pressure to seal the victory.
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier for India A. The team will now travel to Antwerp to face Belgium on Thursday, July 17, with the match scheduled for 3:30 pm IST. Following that, they head to Eindhoven for back-to-back matches against the Netherlands on July 18 and 20, which will conclude their European tour.
These final three fixtures present crucial learning opportunities for the Indian side, especially as many players aim to stake their claim for future senior national team selections. While the recent setbacks serve as reality checks, the exposure to elite-level competition is already proving invaluable.
As the young Indian side regroups, the focus now shifts to finishing the tour strongly and continuing to build on the momentum from earlier wins. With pride and progress on the line, India A will be keen to bounce back and leave a lasting impression in their final European outings.
