Santander, Jul 20: India went down to Spain 1-2 in the final league match of the tri-nation hockey tournament here on Wednesday. This was the final warm-up match ahead of the London Olympics starting on Jul 29. India had also lost to Great Britain, the third team in the competition, 1-3 in their earlier match.

London Olympics Special

Britain with two victories finished at the top of the table while Spain finished second in the competition.

The Indians had started well against the home team, particularly the defence, which successfully nullified several attempts by the Spanish to break through in the first half. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who made some excellent saves, had a great match. The first half ended 0-0.

In the second half, vice-captain Sardara Singh's injury proved vital as he went off the field for nearly 20 minutes. Spain took advantage of this and converted a penalty corner to go up 1-0 in the 42nd minute. David Alegre was the scorer. Miquel Delas made it 2-0 in the 61st minute. India pulled one back in the 64th minute when drag-flicker VR Raghunath scored from a penalty corner.

India will leave for the mega showdown on Friday. They will play the Netherlands, one of the top favourites, in their first match on Jul 30.

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