Rohan Chowdhury in Paris
Shamsher Singh’s shot went inches above the goal in the dying seconds and the hooter was blown soon after. India’s dream to reach the Olympics hockey final after 44 years was shattered following a 3-2 defeat against Germany in the semi-final at Paris.
The match started well for India, as Harmanpreet Singh once again found the target from a penalty-corner and gave his team the lead in the first quarter.
Indian hopes started to fade by the end of the third quarter, as by then Germany were leading 2-1. Credit once again to the No. 16, their penalty-corner specialist Gonzalo Peillat.
India paid the price of not converting chances. They had a shooting efficiency of 12 per cent, compared to Germany’s 23. India only took advantage of two of the 12 penalty-corners they got. One was converted by Harmanpreet and another saw Sukhjeet Singh deflect the ball home for the equaliser.
“I think it was a matter of great homework done by them,” said PR Sreejesh. “They really prepared how to defend against Harman in the penalty-corners,” added the goalkeeper. Sreejesh was once again on the top of his game and made a stunning save in the 50th minute to deny Germany.
The last six minutes of the game gave the India fans some anxious moments. It seemed that the match was headed for a shootout, which has been a strong suit for the Indian team. However, hopes were dashed in the 54th minute. A move from the left flank and a powerful shot from Marco Miltkau went past Sreejesh after a deflection.
In the final two minutes, India played without a goalkeeper and still saved a penalty-corner. As mentioned at the start, Shamsher came close to equalising, but his shot went above the goal and the German bench started to celebrate.
India will play Spain in the bronze-medal match on August 8. Spain suffered a 4-0 loss to The Netherlands in the other semi-final.
“I think we all have a great chance against Spain in the medal match,” said Sreejesh on a positive note. “We have to move past this game and look ahead. We have a great bunch of players who are capable of making the podium,” he ended.
Although defender Amit Rohidas was not available for this match due to a red card, his absence was met well by the team. Had the conversation been better with a bit of luck, India might have been playing the final after 44 years.