Bhubaneswar, Feb. 18 -- Reigning World Champions Germany beat India 4-1 in a high-octane encounter here at the FIH Hockey Pro League 2024-25 (Men) at the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. It was goals by Florian Sperling (7'), Thies Prinz (14'), Michel Struthoff (48') and Raphael Hartkopf (55') that helped clinch the winning points while Gurjant Singh (13') was the lone goal scorer for India.

With the two teams sharing healthy rivalry in international hockey, the match was bound to be intense right from the start with both teams producing exciting brand of hockey. Though India looked like they held better possession in the first five minutes of the opening quarter, the tactically-driven attack by the Germans landed...