India are now atop the leaderboard with five points from two games, but the Manpreet Singh-led side conceded a point to the Netherlands after drawing (during the regulation time) the second match of the contest on Sunday.
India will fight for every point in the European leg of the FIH Pro League to fulfil their twin goals of clinching the title and also securing qualification for next year's World Cup, said Hardik Singh.
But India were resolute in defence to thwart Germany's offensive forays.
India were 3-0 up in the 42nd minute before Paul-Philipp Kaufmann and Michel Struthoff struck for Germany in the 44th and 57th minutes respectively.
Hockey: India seek World Cup berth through Asia Cup triumph; up against China in opener
Indian junior women's hockey team goes down against Germany
It was stalwart India goalkeeper and former skipper Savita Punia's 300th international match but she was beaten in the seventh minute by a reverse hit from a Reijnen.
Indian women's team suffers eighth defeat in FIH Pro League, relegated to Nations Cup
India bounced back in style to beat title holders Australia 3-1 via a shoot-out after both the teams were locked 2-2 at the end of regulation time.
The Indian men's hockey team registered a comprehensive 3-0 win over reigning Olympic champions Argentina in the second match of the FIH Pro League to jump to the fourth spot in the points table, in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
Manpreet Singh, the second-most capped player in Indian hockey, has found a second wind by tweaking his lifestyle and diet.
Sloppy defending cost the Indian men's hockey team dearly as it went down 3-4 to Argentina
India had earlier lost 1-2 against the Netherlands on Saturday.
This was India's second consecutive defeat to the same opponents as they had lost 2-3 on Friday.
Currently, the hockey players draw salaries from the departments and organisations that they are employed with even though a proposal to have a graded contract system by Hockey India has been in the deliberation stage for past few years.
The Netherlands struck the winning goal two minutes from the final whistle through Van Dam Thijs (58th minute), who also scored the equalising goal in the 25th minute.
The Indian men's hockey team bounced back with a comfortable win over Argentina in the FIH Hockey Pro League.
Alexander Hendrickx struck a brace as Belgium notched up a thrilling 3-2 victory over India in the second match of the two-leg FIH Pro Hockey League tournament in Antwerp on Sunday.
Indian women's hockey stalwart Vandana Katariya has retired from international hockey after a 15-year career, stating that she is stepping away at the "zenith" of her career.
Despite a tense final quarter that saw multiple penalty corners, Spain's defence stood firm to deny Germany an equaliser.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
India's women's hockey team, led by captain Salima Tete, is confident of an improved performance in the upcoming Bhubaneswar leg of the FIH Pro League.
Germany, however, regained their lead in the blink of an eye as the ball again got the better of Pathak after it came off Prinz's stick.
The Indian women's hockey team lost 0-1 to Spain in the return leg match of the FIH Pro League.
It was India who had the first opportunity to open the scoring but both the short corners went abegging as the home goalie foiled those attempts with his rock solid defence.
The team will begin its campaign on July 27 against New Zealand, followed by matches against Argentina (July 29), Ireland (July 30), Belgium (August 1) and Australia (August 2).
Mid-fielder Salima Tete on Thursday replaced veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia as captain of the 24-strong Indian women's hockey squad for the Belgium and England legs of the FIH Pro League starting later this month.
India men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh has two Olympic bronze medals in his cabinet, but rues missing out on World Cup glory.
Indian men's hockey team leaves for Mike Horn's base in Switzerland ahead of Paris Olympics
A woman accused the India hockey player of sexually abusing her multiple times when she was a minor.
The Indian men's hockey team climbed two places in the latest FIH rankings following back-to-back wins in the Pro League matches.
Renowned South African mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, who played a role in India winning the 2011 Cricket World Cup, will be a part of the support staff of the country's men's hockey team in Paris.
However, with the Asian Games now postponed to next year owing to the COVID-19 situation in China, HI decided to pick a strong team for the prestigious event, scheduled to begin from July 28.
Indian women's hockey team's new captain Salima Tete hopes to utilise the "valuable lessons" learnt from the recent home series against South Africa to make a fresh start in the European leg of the FIH Pro League, beginning in Antwerp, Belgium on Wednesday.
A bronze medal finish is not what hockey coach Craig Fulton had wanted, but the South African will relish the achievement simply for the fact that "underdog India" lifted themselves up from disappointments when no one gave them a chance.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh wants the young Indian hockey players to get familiar with the playing styles of the best teams in the world during the FIH Pro League, and hoped the country would seal a direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup with a title-winning run in Bhubaneswar.
Harmanpreet scores twice as India thrash Belgium 5-1 in Pro League hockey match
'I look at the difference at how men's coaches are treated. Between me and the men's coach, or the girls and the men's team.'
Motivated India eye German scalp to script another historic chapter in Olympic men's hockey
Vandana Katariya scored from a penalty corner to help the Indian women's hockey team stun world number 3 Australia 1-0 in the FIH Pro League.
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