look news india
On its way to winning a gold medal in the Olympics after 44 years, the Indian men's hockey team will take on world champions Germany in the semi-finals on Tuesday and the Indian team will try to overcome this hurdle and move towards its mission of giving a grand farewell to troubled goalkeeper PR Sreejesh.
Despite being limited to 10 players in the quarter-finals against Britain, the Indian team dragged the match to a penalty shootout with an aggressive and courageous performance. Sreejesh, who gave India an Olympic medal after 41 years by saving Germany's penalty in the bronze medal match of Tokyo Olympics 2021, once again proved to be a match winner. He saved two shots of Britain in the shootout and failed all 10 penalty corners of Britain in the stipulated time. This is the 36-year-old goalkeeper's last Olympics and the mission to send him off with a gold medal has become an additional motivation for the Indian team.
Won gold medal in Moscow in 1980
India won the last of its eight Olympic gold medals at the 1980 Moscow Games and now has a golden opportunity to create history in Paris after 44 years. A win in the semi-finals will ensure at least a silver medal for India, which it last won at the 1960 Rome Olympics. In the quarter-final against Britain, India had to play with 10 players for about 40 minutes. Amit Rohidas was shown a red card and sent off.
Head-to-head record of India and Germany
There is not much difference in world rankings and head-to-head record between four-time Olympic gold medallists Germany and India. Germany is fourth and India is fifth. In Tokyo, India beat Germany 5-4 in a penalty shootout. Before the Olympics, India played a practice match against Germany, winning five out of six matches. India beat Germany 3-0 in the FIH Pro League London stage in June but lost 2-3 in the return match. The other semi-final will be between the Netherlands and Spain. India's match will be played on Tuesday at 10:30 pm.
Rohidas has been suspended for the semi-finals
In the semi-finals, India will have to play without their number 1 rusher who has been banned for one match. Hockey India has appealed against this. Rohidas' absence will also hurt India in penalty corners as he is India's best drag flicker after captain Harmanpreet. This will put additional pressure on Harmanpreet who has scored seven goals so far. This was the best performance by the Indian defence in modern hockey and coach Craig Fulton said it was not a victory but a statement.