New Delhi. The Indian men’s hockey team has made it to the semi-finals with its excellent performance in the Paris Olympics 2024. Today, the Indian team will face world champion Germany from 10:30 pm Indian time. This match can prove to be a turning point in the history of Indian hockey, because if the Indian team defeats Germany, it will at least secure a silver medal, which it last won in the Rome Olympics in 1960. The Indian hockey team won its last gold medal in the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and now it has a chance to create history in Paris after 44 years.
Indian team’s journey so far
The Indian team displayed its courage and skill and won the quarter-final against Great Britain. In this match, the Indian team had to play with 10 players for about 40 minutes due to a red card, but they took the match to a shootout. In the shootout, two brilliant saves by goalkeeper PR Sreejesh gave the Indian team the win.
Great Britain attacked the Indian goal 28 times in regulation time and created ten penalty corners, but they got only one success. Sreejesh, who is 36 years old and this is his last tournament, said after the match, “When I came on the field, I had only two options. This could have been my last match or I would have had the opportunity to play two more matches. Now I have the opportunity to play two more matches.”
Semi-final challenges
India’s number one first rusher Amit Rohidas has been banned from playing in the semi-finals after being shown a red card against Great Britain. His absence will be a big challenge for the Indian team, especially in penalty corners, as he is India’s drag flick specialist after captain Harmanpreet Singh. Harmanpreet, who has scored seven goals so far in this tournament, will be under additional pressure.
Reaction of coach and captain
Coach Craig Fulton described the performance of the Indian defense as the best in modern hockey and said that this victory was a ‘statement’. Captain Harmanpreet Singh said, “Some things are not in our hands. Amit’s absence in the semi-finals will be missed, but our focus is on the match and our performance. In the quarter-finals, every player tried to make up for Amit’s absence till the last minute. We wanted to play against Germany in the final. We also discussed this in team meetings. They are a tough opponent and matches against them go till the last minute.”
?? On Day 11 of the Paris 2024 Olympics, August 6, the spotlight is on the Indian contingent with major events across multiple sports. Watch out for #NeerajChopraIndia vs China Table Tennis, India vs Germany #Hockeyand #VineshPhogat in action!#Olympics #Paris2024, pic.twitter.com/13jV80jmWL
— myKhel.com (@mykhelcom) August 6, 2024
Second Semi-final
In the second semi-final, Netherlands will face Spain. The match between the two teams is also expected to be very interesting.
