PTI, Paris
Indian men's hockey team. This is the second consecutive time that India have reached the semifinals of the Olympic Games. India defeated Great Britain 4-2 in a shoot-out after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
India's Amit Rohidas has been sent off for a red card after he threw a stick at a Great Britain player. Even after that, playing with 10 players, India fought bravely for 40 minutes to hold Great Britain 1-1. In this competition, India had focused on long passes from the air. However, Great Britain's players had taken control of the match by studying this luck of India. India struggled throughout the match. However, they failed to win the match. Sreejesh, who was playing in his last tournament, almost single-handedly took care of India's challenge. It was a similar game against Great Britain.
Harmanpreet converted a penalty corner in the 22nd minute to give India the lead. However, India couldn't hold on to the lead. Five minutes later, Lee Morton scored Britain's equaliser. In the tense moments that followed, India were forced to play with ten players after Rohidas received a red card. As India's numbers dwindled, Britain intensified its offensive. Even when one defender was down, the other players in the team, knowing the situation, changed their positions and kept Britain in check. Britain's offensive was ineffective in front of Sreejesh. In the second half, the match was tied as more games were played on the defensive front along with the attack.
After the first two rounds, the score was tied 2-2. However, he later returned to India. Conor Williams and Philip Roper scored the goals for India. For India, Harmanpreet Kaur, Lalit Upadhyay, Raj Kumar Pal and Sukhjit Singh scored half-centuries.
We didn't lose a single player in the match. We also review such situations during the training period. So when Amit left, I came in as a defender. We got a good win. What to say about Sreejesh, he always saves us at such times. It won't be wrong to say that Sreejesh is a big tournament player, "Manpreet said.
Doubts over Rohidas semi-final availability
Defender Amit Rohidas was shown a red card by the match referee. He is now in doubt for the semi-finals. Rohidas was ejected by the umpires for throwing a stick at a rival player. The Indian team played with 10 players for 40 minutes. In football, when a player is ejected in this way, the player is disqualified for the next match. There is no such rule in hockey. Later, an audio clip of the incident will be viewed and it will be investigated whether Rohidas's act was intentional or unintentional. Rohidas' semi-final appearance is still in doubt as the decision will depend on the severity of the incident. Meanwhile, during the shoot-out, Great Britain's goalkeeper Ollie Payne was taking save advice from his I-pad behind the goalpost before each shot. When the Indian players pointed this out, the iPads were handed over to the assistant coach.
Shootout in the match
India's England
Albery James (11) Harmanpreet Singh
Wallace Zach (22) Sukhjit Singh
Williamson x Curran (23) Lalit Kumar Upadhyay
Roper Philip X (24) Prince Pal ●