On Sunday August 4, the Indian Men’s Hockey team locked in their place in the Paris Olympics semi-finals. The team defeated Great Britain via 4-2 in a shootout, in an intense quarter final.
Despite playing with only 10 men for most part of the match, their resilient defense worked out. India’s next face-off is with Germany, following Germany’s win over Argentina 3-2 in their quarterfinal match.
Highlights of the match
Amit Rohidas was shown the red card, for what appeared to be an intentional attempt to hurt an opponent.
India led in the 22nd minute, with Captain Harmanpreet Singh giving a penalty corner goal. But five minutes later, Great Britain equalized the score when Lee Morton scored from a rebound after Sreejesh’s first block on a low cross.
Then, India demonstrated an outstanding defense play, with former captain Manpreet Singh steepping up to fill in for the suspended Rohidas and making vital saves. Although Great Britain dominated the third quarter and even putting pressure on India during the fourth round, they were unable to break the tie. The game went to a shoot-out, where both the teams were tied 2-2.
India’s victory was assured when Sreejesh made a key save against Phillip Roper, and Connor Williamson missed his shot.
Why did Amit Rohidas get the red card?
In the second quarter, when Rohidas tried to take the ball from British forward Will Calnan, he accidently hit Calnan in the face with his hockey stick. Initially, the on-filed referee did not consider it a serious penalty, but followed by a video review, the decision was changed to a red-card.
India’s Next Match Schedule
The Indian men’s hockey team is all geared up for their semi-finals, scheduled on August 6, Tuesday against Germany. At 5:30 PM IST, the first semi-finals will kick off, and at 10:20 PM IST the second semi-final will begin. India will face Germany in the second semi-final. Both the matches will be hosted at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Paris, France.
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