Indian hockey players created history by defeating its long-standing rival and silver medalist of the Tokyo Games- Australia. India had this victory by 3-2 on Friday.
With their victory, team India closed out their pool matches in style and secured themselves a quarterfinal slot in the men’s hockey tournament at the Paris Olympics.
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Captain Harmanpreet Singh played an integral part in their win in men’s Olympic hockey, scoring two goals – in the 13th and 32nd minutes, respectively – which brought his total goal tally for this tournament so far to six!
Harmanpreet Singh will become the 22nd captain to lead India men’s hockey at an Olympics when he takes to the pitch in Paris 2024.
Manpreet Singh, captaining India at Tokyo 2020 and winning bronze, was an incredible moment in Indian Olympic history. He joins legendary captains like Dhyan Chand, Kunwar Digvijay Singh and Balbir Singh (senior) as one of India’s finest Summer Games leaders.
Let’s Take a Look at What Happened During The Match
Hockey player- Abhishek scored India’s opening goal in the 12th minute to set the tone and give his side an early edge against Australia. Tom Craig scored for Australia 25 minutes later before Blake Govers added two further goals 55 and 56 minutes into play for Australia.
PR Sreejesh, India’s veteran goalkeeper, delivered an outstanding performance in his final international competition. His many saves helped maintain India’s edge.
India recently defeated Australia with an outstanding victory at the Olympic hockey tournament, marking their first success against them since the 1972 Munich Olympics. India began strong by making two circle entries within two minutes to establish control.
Sreejesh made critical saves to stop Kookaburra’s attacks on goal.
Sreejesh made his initial save against Tom Wickham in the 11th minute, which resulted in a penalty corner and set Tom Wickham off towards success on their team’s goal. Unfortunately for them, though, Sreejesh failed again with another save in the 16th minute that led them back toward a penalty corner concession.
Jeremy Hayward’s attempt at goal was missed, while Jarmanpreet Singh delivered a powerful pass from the right flank to Sukhjeet Singh, who only needed to deflect it with one finger; unfortunately, due to its powerful strike, he struggled to control it, and the Australian defense was easily able to stop this attempt before collecting and shooting at target.
Australia created two successive opportunities, but India held firm with their defense in a live hockey match.
India stunned the best hockey players of Australia in the 12th minute through Abhishek. Lalit received a pass into an empty D and attempted a shot that goalkeeper Andrew Charter saved, only for Abhishek to quickly pick up its rebound before turning and shooting past Charter for victory for India.
India earned a penalty corner when Jake Harvie’s foot became caught by the ball, with Harmanpreet capitalizing with an excellent ground flick to beat Charter’s defense and open up space for him to score an early goal during the second quarter – Tim Brand had one chance but missed its target and went wide instead.
Australia earned their second penalty corner of the match in the 19th minute, however, Govers’ shot was blocked by Sreejesh. Hardik Singh proved an indispensable midfielder throughout, consistently feeding forwards.
Australian famous hockey players earned their third penalty corner in the 25th minute, and even though captain Aran Zalewski’s injection was poor, their players quickly rebounded by passing quickly to an unmarked Craig at the second post, who deflected it towards the goal for them.
India eventually earned another penalty corner. However, Harmanpreet was denied by Charter before halftime – leaving India ahead by one goal.
India earned their third penalty corner when an Australian defender tackled Manpreet Singh. Harmanpreet’s strike towards goal was blocked by Flynn Ogilvie, prompting them to seek a referral, eventually leading them back into another penalty stroke, which Harmanpreet took full advantage of by scoring with ease.
Australia earned another penalty corner near the end of the third period but failed to convert, while India received back-to-back penalty corners during the final period without being successful at capitalizing.
Abhishek found himself within striking range again after receiving a pass from Mandeep Singh; however, due to an illegal stick check, this goal was disallowed, and five minutes before full time came, Govers scored from a penalty stroke – narrowing Abhishek’s deficit by one goal.
India stood firm under pressure from Australia late on to secure an impressive win against them and create history in this historic contest.
A Little Dig at Past- India- Australia, Munich
This victory marks India’s first win over Australia at the Olympics in 52 years. The last time India defeated Australia at this stage was at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where they secured a 2-1 win.
At the 1972 Munich Games, the Indian hockey team won a bronze medal, marking their tenth consecutive Olympic medal.
Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) decided to send a young team to the 1972 Olympic Games. Only four members from the 1968 Olympic squad were chosen as representatives this time around.
Perumal Krishnamurthy, Ajit Singh, and veteran Harbinder Singh comprised three of these four. Harmek Singh served as captain for his side.
K.D. Singh, who captained India to victory at the 1952 Olympic Hockey tournament, was appointed coach and two-time Olympic gold-medalist Keshav Dutt as manager.
The young team, featuring exciting players such as Ashok Kumar – son of hockey great Dhyan Chand – and Vece Paes, father of Leander Paes – were inspired by legendary figures.
India was placed in Group B along with the Netherlands, Australia, Great Britain, Poland, Kenya, and New Zealand and completed it unbeaten.
India started their campaign off by drawing 1-1 against the Dutch but won the next two matches convincingly: 5-0 against Great Britain and 3-1 versus Australia.
Image source- https://olympics.com/en/news/indian-hockey-team-munich-1972-olympics-games-bronze-medal
India’s game against Australia was particularly memorable due to striker Mukhbain Singh’s historic hat-trick – India’s first against Australia in any major international competition.
References-
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/paris-olympics-2024/indiaparis/india-end-52-year-wait-beat-australia-3-2-in-olympic-mens-hockey/articleshow/112227583.cms
https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/hockey/indian-hockey-team-ends-52-year-wait-beats-australia-paris-olympics-9491551/https://olympics.com/en/news/paris-2024-olympics-india-vs-australia-hockey-men-group-match-5
https://www.cnbctv18.com/sports/paris-olympics-2024-indias-mens-hockey-team-beat-australia-for-the-first-time-in-52-years-19453852.htm
