After beginning their campaign with a defeat against hosts Spain, the India men’s hockey team will be eager to bounce back and collect their first win of the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation International Tournament when they face heavyweights Netherlands in Terrassa on Wednesday. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh had successfully converted a penalty corner in the last minute of the fourth quarter but that wasn’t enough for the Indians as Pau Cunill (11’) and Joaquin Menini (33’) strikes gave the tournament hosts quite the cushion for a majority of the game. Netherlands have a 50-34 lead over the Indians in their head-to-head record, with 26 of their 110 meetings ending in a draw. The tournament, which goes by the official name of Torneo del Centenario, features four teams in the men’s event and three women’s teams. England are the fourth team in the men’s event besides hosts Spain and India and Netherlands while the women’s event features India, England and Spain. In the men’s event, each team plays the remaining three in a round-robin format, with the top two teams then squaring off in the final that will decide the winner. The women’s even on the other hand, witnesses the teams playing one another over two legs, with each side playing a total of four games. The team with most points at the end of the tournament is then adjudged the winner. Both the Indian men’s and women’s teams will be hoping to get some valuable practice in the tournament. India, especially face a stern test against Netherlands, which finished third in the FIH Hockey World Cup that was hosted in India earlier this year and was won by Germany.
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