Paris (France): The Indian hockey team pulled off a remarkable performance in the French capital on Friday beating Australia in the Olympic Games after 52 years. The Men in Blue outplayed the mighty Aussies by 3-2 and won a thrilling contest. Harmanpreet scored two goals while Abhishek chipped in with one goal. The Indian team inked their third win of the tournament and it sealed their second spot in the Pool B.
India pressed strongly throughout the match and controlled the possession against the mighty Aussies. Abhishek scored the first field goal in the 12th minute and the Indian team doubled their lead in the next minute with captain Harmanpreet Singh scoring a goal from the penalty corner. Australia was back in the contest in the 25th minute as Craig put in a tap to score the first goal for the Australian side. India were leading by 2-1 at halftime.
The Indians attacked with the same intensity in the second half and they were just brilliant against a tough opposition. Harmanpret scored a goal with a penalty stroke in the 32nd minute to extend the lead to 3-1. Thanks to a goal from Govers Blake in the 55th minute, the contest was going down the wire. However, the Indian side kept their composure intact and defended the lead of 3-2 till the end to emerge triumphant and ink a historic win.
Notably, the last win of the Indian team against Australia in the Olympics was on grass in the 1972 Munich Games and it is the first victory of the Indian team against Australia on grass surface.
Earlier in the tournament, India beat New Zealand and Ireland, drew against Argentina, conceded a defeat against Belgium and finished the group stage with a win over Australia.
