Having demonstrated nerves of steel to come close to a second consecutive Olympic medal, the Indian hockey team will capitalize on its chances against familiar foe and reigning world champions Germany in the semi-final of the ongoing Games, hoping to improve on the bronze they have achieved. won in the Tokyo edition. India won the last of their eight Olympic gold medals at the 1980 Moscow Games. Paris offers them a great opportunity to make history. A victory in the semi-final will guarantee silver for India, last achieved in the 1960 Rome edition.
The Indians put in a tenacious performance against Great Britain in the quarter-finals at the iconic Yves-du-Manoir Stadium on Sunday.
Playing with 10 men for almost 40 minutes after Amit Rohidas was red carded for unintentionally hitting rival striker Will Calnan in the face, the Harmanpreet Singh-led team defended resolutely to hold Great Britain 1-1 in regulation time and force a kick. away, where he won 4-2.
Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, playing his last international tournament, appeared to have saved his best for the final stage of his career as he made save after save, including two from penalties, to seal India’s second consecutive place in the Olympic semi-final.
It was one of the bravest performances by the Indians as in modern hockey, playing and winning with one man less is a herculean task.
And on Tuesday, Harmanpreet and his men would not only look to improve the color of their Tokyo medal, but would also want to give a befitting parting gift to the talisman Sreejesh, who will walk into the sunset after the Paris Games.
Nicknamed ‘The Great Wall of Indian Hockey’, Sreejesh has been phenomenal at the Games so far, standing like a warrior in front of the post and enjoying every moment of his final shout at the Olympics.
Against Great Britain, Sreejesh made 10 spectacular field goal saves. If that wasn’t enough, he avoided 10 penalty corners.
“When I stepped onto this field today (Sunday), there were two options for me. This could be my last match, or I got the opportunity for two more matches and I think yes, I have two more matches now,” Sreejesh said later.
“Look, whoever makes it to the semi-finals, we (are) just going to play our game. That’s it, that’s important, because now it’s a different game, because we’re one player down and we need to focus on that now.” But it won’t be easy for the Indians as defender and starter Amit Rohidas was suspended from the semi-final after receiving a controversial red card against Great Britain, a decision which Hockey India has appealed.
Rohidas’ absence will also weaken India’s penalty options as he has fallen behind Harmanpreet in set pieces and the entire responsibility will now fall on the captain.
“Right now, these things are not in our control. While it is a setback not to have Amit on the field in the semi-finals, we are focused on the task at hand,” said Harmanpreet, who was India’s top scorer at the Games with seven goals.
“On Sunday, what stood out most about our performance was the team’s ability to take on the additional responsibility of a key position that Amit played. All the players tried hard and until the last minute we were reacting.” Going by the world rankings and the recent head-to-head, there is almost nothing to differentiate between the current world champions and four-time Olympic gold medalist Germany of India.
While Germany occupies fourth place in the world rankings, the Indians are one step below. Germany, who defeated Argentina 3-2 in the quarter-finals, are a familiar opponent for India in high-stakes tournaments, the most famous being the bronze medal game in Tokyo where India recorded a thrilling 5-1 victory. to 4, thanks to an impressive last-second save. by Sreejesh.
In the days leading up to the Paris Games, India faced Germany in practice matches and the Harmanpreet-led team won five of those six matches.
India’s most recent matches against Germany were in the FIH Pro League London match in June this year, where they defeated Honamas 3-0 before losing 2-3 in the second leg.
“We wanted to face Germany in the final. At least that’s what we discussed among ourselves during team meetings before the Olympic Games.
“They are challenging opponents and when we play against them the game usually lasts until the last second,” said Harmanpreet.
In the other semi-final, the Netherlands will face Spain.
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