Tokyo:A contest that will be remembered for a long time. The Indian men and women teams in a space of a few days added a beautiful chapter in their saga by making it to the semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympics.
A feat not achieved in decades, 41 years precisely.
And on Tuesday in the semis, India showed grit. A hunger that remained unquenchable throughout the course of the match. A fight never seen before, albeit in a losing cause. That was the only difference. Belgium defeated India 5-2 at the Oi Hockey Stadium North Pitch.
The result is one side of the picture, like a penumbra. The other side is a contrast, and bright.
The India team made the most of semi-finals, a berth that had eluded the Indian men's hockey team since the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games where the team led by V Baskaran won the eighth Gold medal for India.
Hockey Captain Manpreet Singh dragflicking during the match It wasn't the best of the starts India was hoping for as a goal was scored in the second minute of the play. Fanny Loick Luypaert opened the account for his team off a penalty corner.
But there was no let up from the Indians as they made a roaring comeback into the match. Indian scored an equaliser after forward Harmanpreet Singh netted for his team off a penalty corner. The team not only equaled the scoreline but got an increment as Mandeep Singh smashed from open play later on.
Know your opposition: The Belgium team played in the Olympics till 1976 Games in Montreal. The didn't participate in the next 32 years. However, they returned in 2008 Games at Beijing and just after a decade won silver in Rio.
Score stood at India leading 2-1 at the end of first quarter.
The second quarter was high-octane, an enthralling exhibition of charged up players vying for the final slot. Belgium pushed hard and they were gifted. Indian defender tried but Hendrickx doesn't usually miss his shot. And he didn't. He brought the score to level with a right down strike.
India and Belgium were level after his goal. 2-2 at the end of second quarter (Half time).
In the second quarter, Indians defended well. A moment came when India upped the ante and had the possession of the ball on most occasions, but Belgium did defend well from deep inside the circle.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, too, was watching the match.
And began the third quarter.
Intensity went up and it was for everyone to see, especially in arduous humid conditions in Tokyo. In the 38th minute of the match, Harmanpreet failed to convert a penalty corner into a goal. Both team tried hard to penetrate each other defences but failed to score. India, overall, had five pc till this time but were able to convert only one.
At the end of the third quarter, the scores were deadlock at 2-2.
The Belgium team in the last quarter looked all fired up, and it was Hendrickx again. He tightened the grip for Belgium as the dragflicker went on scoring his 12th goal at the Games in the 49th minute. He handed his team a lead of 3-2.
With a goal upfront, the Belgians kept up the pressure on the Indian defence, which was guilty of conceding three more penalty corners in quick succession, resulting in a penalty stroke for the world champions which was duly put into the goal by Hendrickx for his third goal of the match.
Trailing by two goals, a desperate India withdrew goalkeeper Sreejesh for an extra player but the move backfired as Dohmen slammed home in an empty net from a counter to shatter India's hopes.
Earlier on Sunday, India had defeated Great Britain 3-1 to reach the semi-finals at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
The Indians still have a chance to secure an elusive medal from the Olympics as they will feature in the bronze medal match on Thursday against the losing team from the second semifinal between Australia and Germany later in the day.
