On Tuesday, the Indian men's hockey team played their best match of the Paris Olympics 2024. They had earlier beaten the mighty Australians and then overcame Great Britain in the quarterfinal with 10 men. Yet, the semifinal against Germany, the world champions, needed something more.
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Harmanpreet Singh's team kept pushing, created chances, scored goals, conceded, and defended valiantly. In the end, even the best against the best proved insufficient. The Germans had a little more quality in the ranks and eventually won the match 3-2. Once again for India, it's the fight for the bronze, this time against Spain on August 8.
Germany, like any world champion hockey team, started strongly. India knew that if they allowed the Germans to dictate the terms right from the first quarter, it would become a long, frustrating evening. Craig Fulton's men deserve credit for stopping their opponents from following their plan. This time, it was India who started well.
In the second minute itself, Hardik Singh entered the circle from the left and won a penalty corner. It didn't result in a goal, but it was a statement.
The goal came in the seventh minute, captain Harmanpreet, maintained his scoring touch and converted a penalty corner, via a deflection. It was a deserving lead. But this is Germany, the best team at this Olympics, with more than a few game-changers in their team. Gonzalo Peillat, already a gold medal winner with Argentina, equalised in the second quarter with a powerful dragflick.
Just before the half-time break, Christopher Ruhr gave his team the lead via a penalty stroke. It seemed the ball hit Jarmanpreet Singh on the foot while on target, although the replays showed it was not going in for certain. Six minutes after the break, India were back on level terms after Sukhjeet Singh deflected in a dragflick from Harmanpreet. A well-worked penalty corner variation to beat the German rushers and the keeper. It was 2-2 going into the final quarter. Both teams deserved their goals and not much to separate the two.
It was in the final quarter though, when the Germans raised their level and pushed a little bit more than their opponents. India were on the back foot but did not make big errors. The ever-reliable PR Sreejesh pulled off a couple of saves while Sanjay prevented a certain goal with an on-the-line block.
Six minutes before full-time, Peillat found the space on the left, passed it to the centre and Marco Miltkau came up with a perfect deflection to make it 3-2. The relentless pressure and the quality on the ball paid off.
Even then, a one-goal deficit with over five minutes to go was not an uphill task. India removed Sreejesh in search of the equaliser but the Germans frustrated them by not allowing them to take control. The same Germans won the World Cup not so long ago and the experience of playing big matches showed.
The golden chance for India came in the dying seconds of the match. Harmanpreet's aerial ball found Shamsher Singh in the D. All he had to do was find the target without the defenders in front of him. The take was perfect but the finish flew over goalkeeper Jean-Paul Dannerberg. The Germans celebrated the miss as the hooter went off. The world champions will now fight for the Olympic gold against the Netherlands.
A tough loss for India but there's also a chance to win the bronze. Spain had beaten the Germans and later the Olympic champions Belgium to reach the semifinals. At this level, no opponent is easy to play against, but India's performances have only been improving after each match.
They still have players who are in form and almost made it to the final. They have a legendary goalkeeper who will be playing his last international match. There's no reason why they cannot end the campaign with a medal.