The Indian men’s hockey team suffered a narrow 3-2 loss against reigning champions Netherlands in the FIH Pro League 2025-26 at the Hockey Club in Rotterdam on Sunday.
Dilpreet Singh (10’) and Sukhjeet Singh (33’) scored for India, eight in the men’s hockey rankings, while Miles Bukkens (3’), Koen Bijen (23’) and Tijmen Reyenga (40’) found the back of the net for the world No. 2 Dutch team.
The match also marked a special occasion for Manpreet Singh, who equalled former captain Dilip Tirkey’s record of 412 international caps for India in international hockey.
The hosts began the game on the front foot, controlling possession as they looked to make early inroads.
They piled on the pressure with four penalty corners in quick succession and drew first blood as Miles Bukkens fired a reverse finish past the Indian goalkeeper to give the Netherlands the lead.
Shilanand Lakra nearly got India back on level terms soon after, as he hit the post in the eighth minute.
The visitors eventually found the equaliser courtesy of Dilpreet Singh, after a sensational long pass from Harmanpreet Singh allowed the attacker to fire his shot past the Dutch goalkeeper from a narrow angle.
With the lion’s share of possession in the second quarter, the Netherlands created chances with regularity but couldn’t find a way past Suraj Karkera.
After India started to play on the counterattack, Dilpreet Singh had the opportunity to double his tally but was denied by the Dutch goalkeeper.
The hosts eventually got back in front as Koen Bijen found the back of the net with a first-time strike to give his side a 2-1 lead at half-time.
India then began the second half by stringing together neat passes to control the tempo and the visitors earned their first penalty corner of the match and made it count with a clever set-piece routine that was finished off by Sukhjeet Singh to level the score at 2-2.
The Dutch responded with a penalty corner variation of their own as Tijmen Reyenga rifled his effort past the goalkeeper to help his side regain the lead.
Trailing by a goal, world No. 8 India looked more positive in the final quarter as they pushed the Netherlands back into their own half.
The Netherlands had to defend in numbers as India continued to search for the equaliser through penalty corners in the closing stages and managed to hold firm to secure a 3-2 victory.
After the loss on Sunday, India now find themselves in eighth spot in the FIH Pro League standings with four points from eight games.
The Indian hockey team will face Germany in their next FIH Pro League match on Wednesday.
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/fih-pro-league-2025-26-india-vs-netherlands-hockey-match-report
