India beat Great Britain 4-2 in a shootout to reach the semifinals of the men’s hockey event at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay and Raj Kumar Pal scored for India while James Albery and Zachary Wallace converted for GB. But Conor Williamson and Phil Roper failed to find the back of the net, ceding the match to the Indians.
This is India’s second consecutive semifinal at the Olympics. Craig Fulton’s men are now one win away from being Olympic medallists. If they lose the semis, they will play the bronze medal match.
Earlier, Great Britain threatened to take an early lead, earning two penalty corners in quick succession (10:46 and 10:48) in the first quarter. However, Indian defender Amit Rohidas did his job as the first rusher to repel both attacks and deny the opposition a crucial early advantage.
India found it tough to cope with Great Britain’s relentless pressure, but goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh’s timely interventions kept it at bay. With less than five minutes left in the quarter, Great Britain came close to scoring again from a penalty corner, but India’s defense held strong. Jarmanpreet Singh blocked the initial shot, and goalkeeper Sreejesh quickly reacted to clear the ball from danger.
In the final minutes of the first quarter, India applied pressure with three penalty corners, but GB goalkeeper Ollie Payne made crucial saves. The quarter ended with the score 0-0.
However, India’s hopes were dented early in the second quarter when Rohidas was given a red card and ejected from the game for dangerously swinging his stick into a GB player’s face.
India didn’t let the setback hold it back. With less than 10 minutes left in the second quarter, Vivek’s impressive run down the left led to a penalty corner with GB keeper Payne lying on top of the ball. Captain Harmanpreet then scored with a powerful dragflick, putting India ahead 1-0 despite being a player down.
But three minutes before the half-time hooter, GB bounced back through Lee Morton, who scored after a well-crafted move down the right flank. A low cross was initially blocked by Sreejesh, but the rebound fell to Morton, who converted from close range after his shot took a deflection off the Indian goalkeeper. Both teams went into the second break 1-1.
India defended well in the third quarter, thanks to Sreejesh’s great goalkeeping and Manpreet’s strong defensive plays. Manpreet, who moved to central defence in Rohidas’ absence, made key blocks to stop GB, who enjoyed maximum possession, from scoring. Meanwhile, Sumit received a green card for hitting the ball away after the whistle blew. As a result, India played two minutes of the final quarter with only nine players.
In the final quarter, GB launched a fierce attack on India’s defence, but Sreejesh and the defenders held strong to push the match into a shootout and create history.
India will meet either Argentina or Germany in the semifinal on August 6.
