Indian men's hockey team suffers sixth consecutive defeat

New Delhi: Indian men's team lost their sixth match on the trot, losing 2-3 to Australia in FIH Pro League while the women's team lost 1-2 against the Aussies.India stormed ahead just three minutes in when Sanjay capitalised on a rebound from their first penalty corner. However, Australia responded almost immediately: Tim Brand levelled the score in the fourth minute, followed by Blake Govers giving the Kookaburras a 2–1 lead just 60 seconds later.From the 18th minute, Australia asserted dominance. Cooper Burns extended the lead with another penalty-corner strike.Indian goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak made several critical saves- denying both Davis Atkin and an additional Australian penalty corner- but India couldn’t regain momentum before halftime.After the interval, Indian forwards found fresh energy. In the 36th minute, Dilpreet Singh bundled home a goal, assisted by Shilanand Lakra and Abhishek, equalising the score at 2–2. Yet, Australia kept up relentless pressure, earning three more penalty corners in the final 10 minutes- none converted thanks to Pathak’s resilient goalkeeping.Despite strong individual performances- most notably from goalkeeper Pathak and forwards Sanjay and Dilpreet- India couldn’t break their losing streak. Former captain Manpreet Singh played his 400th match on Sunday but was unable to lead his side to victory.The Indian women’s hockey team suffered a narrow 1–2 defeat to Australia in their FIH Pro League clash in London on Sunday, conceding a last-minute goal. Vaishnavi Phalke had put India ahead early but Australia equalised through Amy Lawton before Lexie Pickering sealed the result in the final minute.