India stun Netherlands 3-2 to end Rotterdam leg on high

India closed the Rotterdam leg of the FIH Pro League with a result that said as much about squad depth as it did about the scoreboard. Missing captain Harmanpreet Singh, the men’s team beat defending Olympic champions the Netherlands 3-2 at Hockey Club Rotterdam on Sunday, with Hardik Singh leading from midfield and collecting Player of the Match honours.

The response carried added weight because India had lost to the same opponent 3-2 in Rotterdam a week earlier. This time, Craig Fulton’s side started cautiously, with the first quarter producing only one penalty corner, then gradually took control as the game opened up in the second quarter. Jugraj Singh broke through with a powerful drag flick in the 18th minute, only for Pepijn van der Heijden to pull the hosts level a minute later from a penalty corner.

India settled again before the break. In the 27th minute, Jarmanpreet Singh found Abhishek, who finished with a tomahawk to restore the lead and swing momentum back toward the visitors. From there, India’s structure stood out as much as the goals did. The Dutch tried to push India deep and pin them in their own half, but the visitors handled the pressure well, especially on penalty corners, where their organisation held when the match threatened to tilt.

The decisive passage came in the 56th minute, when Dilpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh triggered a counterattack that forced another penalty corner. Rajinder Singh stepped up and converted with a drag flick to make it 3-1, a cushion that proved vital when the Netherlands, down to 10 men, pressed hard in the closing minutes. Koen Bijen scored in the 59th minute, but by then it was only a consolation.

Hardik Singh’s role mattered throughout. With Harmanpreet Singh unavailable, Hardik Singh brought defensive discipline, calm distribution and control in midfield, the kind of performance that suggested India can cope when a senior match-winner is absent. That is significant for a side chasing consistency as much as results, and for a program that will judge itself by more than one upset.

The win left India eighth in the standings with 10 points from 12 matches, easing the pressure after a difficult home leg and making relegation fears less immediate. India’s next men’s Pro League match was scheduled for Tuesday against Pakistan at the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre in London, the start of a demanding run that also includes England on June 25 and Pakistan again on June 26.