Paris (France): The Indian team succumbed to a defeat on Wednesday in the semi-final of the Paris 2024 against Germany in a thrilling encounter by 2-3. The team missed out on a chance to ensure at least silver for the Indian team and they will now play the bronze medal match against Spain.
When the Indian hockey team walked into the hockey field at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in the semi-final against Germany they were carrying high hopes on their shoulders. Considering their magnificent victory against Australia in the group stage fixture and a spirited performance against Great Britain despite being one man short, Indian fans were expecting them to bring the old prestige to Indian hockey.
The men in blue dominated the first 10 minutes of the quarter which also included a goal from Harmanpreet in the 7th minute via a penalty corner. It was end-to-end action after that but India was making some unforced errors in the mid-field. The quarter ended with India leading by 1-0 but Germans were going to find their way back soon.
In the second quarter, Germany started on an aggressive note while India relied on defence in the first three minutes. They conceded a penalty corner in the 18th minute and German drag-flicker Gonzalo Peillat made no mistake in beating the goalkeeper and equalising the scoreline. India had a couple of opportunities in the next five minutes but both went in vain. Abhishek received an aerial in the dee but failed to take a shot at goal as a German player stuck out his stick to deviate the shot. Lalit Upadhyay was one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the 23rd minute thanks to a beautiful combination of passes but missed his shot.
Four minutes later Germany was awarded a penalty stroke as during the penalty corner a shot hit Jermanpreet's leg. The German player capitalised on the easy chance and the Germans were now leading 2-1 by the half time. In a battle that saw each team taking turns to dominate each other Indians looked slightly better at making attack through clean passes and a strong defence in the third quarter. The team earned a penalty corner and they tried a variation where Sukhjeet deflected Harmanpreet's shot along the ground into the goal. The scores were 2-2 now and it was going to be a battle of nerves in the last quarter.
In the last 15 minutes, Germany upped the ante and they were into the attack. India adopted the low block most of the time and tried counter-attacks in between. But, Germany's aggression paid dividends as Mitlkau put the team ahead with a deflection with six minutes left on the clock. Indians were unable to come back after that and their dream to win an Olympic gold in hockey was shattered.
