New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS): India captain Harmanpreet Singh, known worldwide for his scoring prowess, missed a crucial penalty stroke against Germany when the score was 0-1 during the first match of the two-game Bilateral Hockey Series at Major Dhyanchand National Stadium here on Wednesday. The captain spoke on his missed opportunity after the game and reflected on the side’s performance as the two teams will square up again on Thursday.

“It’s a part of the game, (I) dodged the goalkeeper as well but he made a good save. If we look at the game overall we performed well, we managed the ball well but can definitely be better on defense, but we can do much better and we will look to work on where we lacked for tomorrow’s match,” skipper Harmanpreet Singh told IANS after the match.

Harmanpreet has been India's most prolific scorer in recent outings having been the top scorer for the nation at the Asian Champions Trophy and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Germany did not waste much time on the day and made the first foray into India’s circle early in the game and Henrik Mertgens pounced on a stray ball in the shooting circle to beat Krishan Pathak and score the first goal of the game for the visitors in the first quarter.

The second quarter saw India put Germany on the back foot in search of an equaliser. The pressure resulted in three penalty corners for India but Sanjay, Amit and Harmanpreet failed to capitalise on the opportunities.

With three minutes left in the quarter, India were awarded a penalty stroke but German goalkeeper Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji blocked Harmanpreet’s attempt to maintain their lead in the game.

Germany initiated a counterattack in the last minute of the half and earned a penalty corner. Lukas Windfeder stepped up and found the gap between goalkeeper Suraj Karkera and postman Jarmanpreet Singh to double Germany’s lead heading into the second half.

The scoreline remained intact till the final whistle in what was a tough loss for India.