Rio De Janeiro: The Indian men's hockey team went down 2-1 against Netherlands in their Pool B encounter.. Both the first and second quarter went goal-less as none of the team were able to take the lead in the two quarters.
The men in blue succeeded to keep the formidable Dutch unit silent for half of the game.
However, the Dutch team, who have clinched medals in their last four Olympics, didn't had to wait too long as Rogier Hofman scored their first goal in the 32nd minute.India too, didn't remain silent for too long as it earned its first PC within 10 minutes after conceding a goal and VR Raghunath brilliantly scored the equaliser.
The Indian skipper PR Sreejesh stood like a wall ahead of the Dutch team and saved several goals to deny a lead to the opponents.However, India received a major blow when SV Sunil and Raghunath were served yellow cards and both had to serve a five-minute suspensions.
In the fourth quarter, the Netherlands took the lead as Mink van der Weerden scored for his team, taking it to 2-1.
India got a number of opportunities in the dying minutes of the game. However, they failed to convert any and eventually lost the matter by 1-2. With this win, the Netherlands has now secured their quarter-final berth. (UNI)
