It was a memorable evening for Manpreet Singh in Rotterdam as he not only set a new Indian record with his 413 runs.y He played one international cap for his country but also helped his team to their first win of the FIH Pro League season, a 3-1 victory over Germany.
In the other match held this evening, Spain’s women defeated Ireland on penalties after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
In London, Argentina’s men battled back to defeat Australia, while there was a first win of the season for the Australian women, who edged out Germany.
(Women) Spain 1 – 1 Ireland (SO: 3-0)
The Spanish Women returned for their first professional league match since February and managed to secure a bonus point in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw with Ireland.
Spain put some pressure early and took the lead when the ball passed in front of goal from the inside post and Teresa Lima cut it back for Candela Mejias to put it into the net from a tight angle.
The Spaniards almost gave Ireland an equalizer just a few minutes later when Jessica McMaster intercepted a poor clearance across their circle. However, she failed to make clear contact with her shot, and was comfortably saved. Ireland created another chance in the final minute of the first quarter, and this time they took it, with Hannah McLoughlin firing a corner kick into the bottom right corner to level the score. The second half remained goalless, with the first half ending in a 1-1 draw.
Both teams tightened their defense in the third quarter, leaving their goalkeepers largely untested, and the teams headed into the final period with the scores still level. An early corner kick was not converted by Ireland, while Spain also had several chances on the computer. While the quarter was more crowded in both departments, neither team was able to break the deadlock, with the match going to penalties.
Spain’s Berta Ajulo won the Best Player of the Match award and said: “We missed playing together as a team, so we are very happy to be here again. This is our first step to continue working to do our best in the Pro League.”
(Men) Australia 1 – 2 Argentina
Argentina fought back to snatch a 2-1 deathmatch victory over Australia in a closely contested match.
There was very little to separate the two sides in a first half filled with needlework and some heavy collisions. There were many good chances and some good chances on both sides before the Kookaburra team took the lead in the 29th minute.y In the 60th minute, Key Willott pounced on a loose ball after the Argentine defense had stopped playing in anticipation of a free kick.
The physical battle continued into the third quarter, with both men coming up short with near misses. Jed Snowden came off his line quickly to stifle an early Argentine shot from open play, and Matias Andreotti grabbed his stick en route to deny Willott at the back post as the ball floated across the goal at shoulder height. Thomas Dominy equalized for Los Leones in the 40th minutey Precision with a low pull click for a frayed finish.
Australia enjoyed a long period of superiority at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but came up empty-handed and the competition resumed. Argentina’s aggressive run down the right flank led to a poor save in the 57th minutey One minute in, and Domaine fired in the resulting shot for a 2-1 lead. Australia immediately sacrificed their goalkeeper for a score, but lived dangerously without finding an equaliser.
Player of the Match was awarded to Argentine Thomas Domin, who said: “We are really happy because our first match was not what we expected. So we won the match today because we worked hard, and that is the way we should play matches. We are happy with the win.”
(Men) India 3 – 1 Germany
India registered its first win of the FIH Pro Hockey League season by defeating Germany 3-1 in Rotterdam.
The Indians got off to a fast start, applying all the early pressure. Their breakthrough came when the ball struck Tom Grambusch’s stick in the center of the circle and reached Mandeep Singh, who made a powerful run before scoring the first goal. India doubled their advantage just six minutes later. Harmanpreet Singh fired a powerful ball into the circle that bounced off the stick of a German defender, and Shilanand Lakra pounced on it and scored it into the net again.
Germany struggled to create any meaningful chances until just over five minutes before half-time, when they won the first penalty of the game. However, that effort – and another while India were temporarily reduced to 10 men – was well defended, allowing India to take a deserved 2-0 lead at half-time.
The Indians continued their lead five minutes into the third quarter after another costly defensive error from Germany. Neelakanta Sharma took advantage, making a brilliant run into the circle before beating the goalkeeper to make it 3-0. With just 20 seconds left in the quarter, Germany finally broke through to the lead when Tom Grambusch crossed the ball inside the circle and Rafael Hartkopf was in the perfect position to direct a backhand shot that deflected into the net to close the gap.
Germany pulled their goalkeeper with three minutes to go in an attempt to mount a late comeback and almost found another goal when Hartkopf got on the end of a chance, only to have his effort go over the bar. They were awarded a final penalty in the final minutes, but India’s defense – outstanding throughout the match – held firm again to secure a deserved victory.
Indian Hardik Singh won the best player award and said: “I thought the team played really well. All 18 players were in really good form. We knew what we were doing and our structure was really good and we knew we had to finish stronger and that’s what we did… Manpreet is a legend. He’s just an inspiration to all of us. Hats off to him.”
(Women) Germany 0 – 2 Australia
Australia survived long periods of sustained pressure to claim their first win of the season with a 2-0 win over Germany. With the Australians languishing at the bottom of the table, these were important points in the context of the relegation battle.
Germany enjoyed an early advantage and Jocelyn Bartram had to be at her best to maintain her advantage on at least three occasions. Her choice to make the save came as time ticked down in the first quarter, as she set her right angles to stifle a deflection and then quickly jumped to her right to push the ball into the post with the tip of her glove.
The Hockeyroos settled well in the second quarter and opened the scoring in the 20th minute, as Stephanie Kershaw converted a deflected corner kick from the p. Alice Arnott doubled the lead in the 26th minutey Minute, she shot it high into the roof of the net from a different corner kick, which she returned after the injection. Australia found themselves under enormous pressure heading into half-time, but were able to defend four late corner kicks to maintain a 2-0 lead at the break.
The Germans dominated the third quarter, entering the circle almost at will, shooting from open play, and steadily increasing the number of corner penalties without a result. Bartram was brilliant in goal, receiving tremendous help from the brave first wave runners. Germany had no choice but to substitute their goalkeeper with five minutes to go, but it didn’t work, and they were left to rue 10 missed penalties.
The Best Player of the Match award was given to Australian Jocelyn Bartram, who said: “We had a great defensive effort from the whole team today and coming away with a 2-0 win is exactly what we came for.
Current top scorers:
Women – Yibbi Jansen (NED) (10 goals)
Men – Thomas Domaine (Argentina) (14 goals)
To see the current standings in the FIH Professional Hockey League, Click here.
FIH Professional Hockey League – June 17, 2026
HC Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NED)
slim
Result: Match 45 (W)
Spain 1 – 1 Ireland (SO: 3-0)
Player of the match: Berta Ajulo (Spain)
Referees: Rawi Anbananthan (Diamonds), Juan Pedro Rodriguez (Argentina), Dan Barstow (English video).
men
Result: Match 45 (Male)
India 3 – 1 Germany
Player of the Match: Hardik Singh (India)
Judges: Jayden Pearson (Australia), Tamara Leonard (Australia), Alisha Newman (Australia Video)
Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, London (United Kingdom)
men
Result: Match 44 (Male)
Australia 1 – 2 Argentina
Player of the Match: Thomas Dumin (Argentina)
Referees: Alison Keogh (Ireland), Lisette Baljohn (bottom), Paul van den Assum (bottom video)
slim
Result: Match 44 (W)
Germany 0 – 2 Australia
Player of the Match: Jocelyn Bartram (Australia)
Referees: Ivona Makar (Croatia), Lorejen de Kraker (Netherlands), Aiden Schreeves (RSA video).
