Jip Janssen slammed a hat-trick to steer Tamil Nadu Dragons to a tight 6-5 win over Team Gonasika in a high-scoring Hockey India League (HIL) clash in Rourkela on Wednesday.
India had earlier lost 1-2 against the Netherlands on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu Dragons edged past Hyderabad Toofans 4-3 in a shootout after the two teams were locked at 2-2 at the end of regulation time in the Men's Hockey India League. The win propelled Tamil Nadu Dragons to the top of the eight-team standings with 17 points from eight games.
Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers will play the Tamil Nadu Dragons in the first semi-final of the HIL on Friday, while JSW Soorma Hockey Club will take o Hyderabad Toofans in the second semi-final.
Alexander Hendrickx (24th, 43rd) scored a brace for Vedanta Kalinga Lancers while Tom Craig (31st) and Jip Janssen (51st) found the target for Tamil Nadu Dragons at the Birsa Munda Stadium.
With this victory, Tamil Nadu Dragons consolidated their position at the top of the table with 15 points, while Delhi continued to remain winless and at the bottom of the standings.
Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers emerged victorious in the men's Hockey India League, securing the title with a thrilling 4-3 win over Hyderabad Toofans in the summit clash.
Top-ranked Netherlands reached the men's hockey final at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday with a much more comfortable 4-0 win over Spain than in the pool stage
A round-up of matches from the Hockey World Cup played on Saturday.
The Indian men's hockey team's FIH Pro League title hopes went up in smoke after suffering a hard-fought 1-2 defeat against the Netherlands
Ace drag-flicker Gonzalo Peillat struck a second-half hat-trick as Germany made a sensational comeback after being two goals down to beat Australia 4-3 and enter the men's hockey World Cup final for the fifth time, in Bhubaneswar, on Friday.
Germany ended Belgium's dominance in global hockey in the last five years after yet another stunning comeback from two-goal deficit to beat the defending champions in the penalty shoot-out to win the FIH Hockey Men's World Cup for a third time, in Bhubaneswar, on Sunday.
The triumph also took Germany to the top of FIH world rankings from the pre-tournament fourth place.
The hosts will face Australia in the semi-final on Friday.
