The Indian junior men’s hockey team endured a tough outing on Tuesday, going down 1-5 against a clinical Spanish side in their final pool stage match of the ongoing 4 Nations Tournament.
Spain came out firing from the first whistle, scoring twice within the opening three minutes. Pere Amat opened the account in the 2nd minute with a well-converted penalty corner, followed swiftly by a field goal from Santi Martin in the 3rd minute, giving Spain an early 2-0 advantage.
The second quarter saw high-intensity end-to-end action, with India looking to break through Spain’s defense and the latter attempting to extend their lead. However, neither side could capitalise, and Spain retained their two-goal cushion going into halftime.
Spain dominated the third quarter, exploiting gaps in India’s defense. Pere Amat struck again in the 42nd minute with another penalty corner, while Josep Martin added a fourth goal just a minute later through open play.
In the final quarter, Spain continued to assert control. Mario Mena made it 5-0 with a perfectly executed penalty corner in the 51st minute. India finally found the net in the 52nd minute, courtesy of a field goal from Araijeet Singh Hundal, avoiding a complete whitewash.
With this result, India wrap up the pool stage of the tournament, having previously faced Germany and Australia. The 4 Nations Tournament follows a round-robin format, with all four teams — India, Spain, Germany, and Australia — playing each other once. The top two sides will contest the final, while the remaining two teams will compete in the third-place playoff.
