Tokyo Olympics 2020: Indian men's hockey team suffers 3-2 defeat against Germany in practice match

The Manpreet Singh-led Indian hockey team suffered a narrow defeat in a thrilling warm-up match against Germany at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday. India trailed 2-0 until the end of the second quarter.

Germany scored with a penalty corner and a field goal. India made a fighting comeback, courtesy of Dilpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh's brilliant goal, but fell ultimately fell short. PR Sreejesh made two crucial saves as the match ended 3-2 in Germany's favor.

The match was originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday but had to be postponed.

The Men in Blue will target to end the 41-year wait for an Olympic medal. The Indian men’s hockey team is the most successful Olympic team in this sport with 11 medals including eight gold. However, their last medal came back in 1980. India had won gold defeating Spain by a 4-3 scoreline in the final.

READ: Indian hockey at Tokyo Olympics 2020: All the participants, events, schedule, and live streaming details

The Indian men’s hockey team will begin their Tokyo Olympics campaign on July 24 at the Oi Hockey Stadium. They have been placed in group A alongside Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Spain.

Every breath we have taken, every step we have made, has gone in preparing for the biggest stage.With dreams in our eyes, Team India #HaiTayyar! 🇮🇳#IndiaKaGame #Tokyo2020 #TokyoOlympics #StrongerTogether #Cheer4India #HockeyInvites #WeAreTeamIndia #Hockey pic.twitter.com/G9iqVd8H5c

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) July 22, 2021

Tokyo Olympics: India Women's Hockey team suffers defeat

Meanwhile, the Indian Women's team also suffered a defeat against Argentina. Both sides were level until the end of the third quarter. In the final quarter, Argentina found the net to win the match 1-0.

Men's Squad:

Goalkeeper: PR Sreejeesh

Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Birendra Lakra

Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh (Captain), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit

Forwards: Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh

Women's Squad:

Goalkeeper: Savita Punia

Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Nikki Pradhan, Gurjit Kaur, Udita Duhan

Midfielders: Nisha, Neha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Navjot Kaur, Salima Tete

Forwards: Rani Rampal (Captain), Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Sharmila Devi