Paris Olympics 2024: Sreejesh masterclass fires India to semifinals with win over Great Britain on penalties
India beat Great Britain 4-2 in penalty shoot-out to enter the semifinals of the men's hockey event at the Paris Olympics, having played with 10 men for more than 40 minutes at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Sunday.
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FollowIndian men's hockey team secured an emphatic victory over Great Britain on penalties to enter the semi-finals of Paris Olympics 2024 on Sunday. India were handed a blow just 17 minutes into the match when defender Amit Rohidas received a straight red card for dangerous play. Nevertheless Men in Blue drew the first blood thanks to Harmanpreet Singh's powerful strike from a penalty corner in the 22nd-minute.
Meanwhile Great Britain leveled the score through Lee Morton five minutes later and went all out attack against a man-less Men in Blue. Criag Fulton's side showed impeccable resilience to force the game into penalties, where they prevailed 4-2, thanks to goalkeeper PR Sreejesh's two stunning saves.Â
Sreejesh, who was India's unsung hero in the historic 3-2 win over Australia in their final pool match on Friday (August 2), produced yet another solid performance, this time against GB, to fire his team to the last four stage of the Paris Olympics. GB, who played almost 43 minutes with a man-advantage made 24 circle entries compared to just eight by India and earned nine penalties corner's in the entire match. Nevertheless, the Indian wall, Sreejesh, stood firm, well supported by nine team members on the field.Â
The first quarter was an end-to-end affair with both sides earning three PC's each but the goalkeepers were up to the task to keep the score 0-0. Meanwhile, the second quarter proved to be a dramatic one as India's first rusher and key defender Rohidas was sent off for dangerous play. Although the decision looked a bit harsh, India took the lead against the run of play. Harmanpreet scored his seventh goal of the tournament from a well-taken PC.Â
In response, Morton found the equaliser with just three minutes remaining before the break. After the interval, Fulton's men came out with a solid plan to defend deep and hit the opposition on the counters. Although 10 men Indian team struggled to create chances at the other end, the entire team defended brilliantly to deny Britain the winner and forced the game into penalties.Â
The first two penalty-takers for both the teams found the back of the net and the scores were level at 2-2. Lalit Upadhyay showed great stick-work before slotting home past GB GK Ollie Payne, before Williamson Conor was denied by Sreejesh, advantage India. Ramkumar extended the lead to 4-2 and Roper Phil needed to score to keep GB in the contest, but the 36-year-old Indian custodian made a fabulous save to book a place in the semi-finals.
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