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The Indian junior men's hockey team went down 1-4 in a hard-fought match against Germany in the semi-finals of the FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup Malaysia 2023, here on Thursday. The Indian Team, led by Uttam Singh, will now play the loser of the second semi-final between France and Spain to be played later in the day.
The first quarter wasn't short on action as the Indian Team was awarded two penalty corners within the first four minutes, but it was Germany that drew first blood with a goal from Ben Hasbach (8'). India were quick to equalize, courtesy of a brilliant field goal from Sudeep Chirmako (11'), as the first quarter ended with the score reading 1-1. The second quarter was rather quiet. While India did have multiple opportunities in the form of penalty corners, they were unable to convert any into goals. Germany were awarded their first penalty corner of the match early in the last minute of the second quarter, and they made full use of it as Ben Hasbach (30') netted his second goal. The score read 1-2 in favour of Germany with the teams heading in at halftime. The Indian Team started the third quarter on the front foot and was rewarded for their aggressive approach as they won their eleventh penalty corner with six minutes left in the third quarter, but Germany managed to keep them from scoring. Paul Glander (41') converted Germany's second penalty corner to double the lead, taking the score to 1-3 at the end of the third quarter. The Indians put pressure on the Germans in the 4th quarter but were unable to penetrate through their defense. India found hope in the form of two back-to-back penalty corners with less than ten minutes remaining in the game, but neither was converted as the German defenders were relentless. Florian Spirling (58') scored Germany's fourth goal with just a few minutes left on the clock to confirm their place in the Final as India ended up losing the game 1-4. India will now battle it out for the third place when they play the loser of the second Semi-Final, where France is facing Spain, on December 16. (ANI)
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