Eindhoven [Netherlands], July 21 : India A men's hockey team ended their Euro Tour campaign with a 2-8 loss against the Netherlands. Young Indian midfielder Rajinder Singh and forward Selvam Karthi scored the two goals for India A in the final match. India A had also lost in their earlier match against the Netherlands on July 18 with a 0-3 scoreline.
India A had kicked off their Euro tour on July 8 and played a total of eight matches against five European teams during this tour. The team travelled across three cities to compete against some of the top hockey teams in the World, including the World number 1 Netherlands and World number 3 Belgium.
Talking about the overall experience, India A coach Shivendra Singh said while the team might have had more losses than wins during this European Tour, it was never about the results and more about learning and experience gained from this tour as a team.
"We had a mix of senior and junior players as part of India A, and they gained very valuable experience during the past two weeks. As we head back to India, I am confident that all these players will use this valuable experience and incorporate it to better their game for all their future matches," he said, according to Hockey India release.
India A played against Ireland, France, England, Belgium, and the Netherlands during this exposure tour and won a total of three of their eight matches.
In their previous clash, India endured a 1-3 loss against Belgium at the Sportcentrum WilrijksePlein. Belgium scored three goals in the first quarter itself, taking an early lead in the match. India did well to sustain the pressure, hold possession, and create good opportunities in the attack over the remaining three quarters, as they managed to score in the final quarter of the game.