'Matches abhi baki hai,' Sreejesh reminds his dejected boys

The Indian contingent faced two heartbreaks one after another at the Rio Olympics. India's golden boy, Abhinav Bindra missed on a bronze medal by a whisker, on his last competitive outing for India.

 

That disappointment was followed by a blow to the Indian men's hockey team when they lost 1-2 to reigning champions Germany. India continued their never-ending habit of conceding late goals when Germany scored the winner a few seconds before the final whistle.

 

A win or even a draw against a superior side like Germany would have been no less than a step-up for Sreejesh and Co. After displaying some exceptional hockey throughout the game, India conceded a goal just 3.1 seconds from full time.

 

However, the Indian skipper PR Sreejesh has motivated his boys on social media by praising their performance against Germany on Monday. He went on to say that although the loss disappointed them, they still have a few matches left in the group stage.

 

 

 

 

India are currently third on the table out of six teams. India are going next face Canada, Argentina and Netherlands and a top four finish is a must in order to qualify for the knockout stage.

 

India started the fixture against the Germans as underdogs as their previous win against these opponents came way back at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

 

Nevertheless, the match turned out to be a close contest as both the sides displayed commendable attacking, aggressive and defending skills.

 

Germany took the lead against the run of play through a field goal from Niklas Wellen ('18) before Rupinder Pal Singh ('23) drew parity for India by converting his third penalty corner of the Games.

 

In the final seconds of the game, Christopher Ruhr sealed the match for Germany with a deflection from close range to shatter the Indian side.