India go down fighting to champions Australia

Breda, June 28: India fought valiantly before going down 2-3 to world champions Australia to slump to its first defeat in the FIH Champions Trophy hockey tournament, here today.

Australia produced their best show of the tournament and scored through Lachlan Sharp (6th minute), Tom Craig (15th) and Trent Mitton (33rd) to secure full points.

The Indians, however, did not give up and fought till the end, scoring through Varun Kumar (10th) and Harmanpreet Singh (58th), producing a nail-biting finish.

Day four of the Rabobank Men's Hockey Champions Trophy Breda 2018 had another exciting hockey match on display on 27th June. Here is the result of the day. #IndiaKaGame #HCT2018 pic.twitter.com/deZaV1PFnK

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) June 27, 2018

The loss meant India slumped to third spot in the standings with six points from two wins behind hosts Netherlands (6 points), while Australia climbed to the top with seven points from three games.

Take a look at the standings after a significant fourth day of the Rabobank Men's Hockey Champions Trophy Breda 2018 on 27th June 2018. #IndiaKaGame #HCT2018 pic.twitter.com/8Ep9zz7Sde

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) June 27, 2018

The top two sides after the round robin stage of the six-team event will play in the final of the tournament on Sunday.

In pursuit of their maiden Champions Trophy title in the 37th and final edition of the event, the Indians could not have asked for a better start, mauling arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 before stunning world No. 2 and reigning Olympic champions Argentina 2-1 in their opening two games.

But the defeat against Australia has brought them back to earth.

India will next play Belgium on Thursday. The match will start at 8.30pm IST.