India beat Great Britain in the first semifinal of the men’s hockey competition on Sunday (August 4) to book a place in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics 2024. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh made multiple saves for India in regulation time and then kept two opposition players at bay in the shoot-out to seal a famous win and also a place in the last four for India.
Both teams managed to score a goal each in regulation time, after which the result of the match was decided via penalty shootout, where India scored four goals and Great Britain could only make the first two opportunities count.
In the semifinal match, India will now face the winner of the Argentina-Germany match on Tuesday, August 6.
10 played with 10 men
India were reduced to 10 men in the match during the second quarter after Amit Rohidas was shown a red card for raising his stick against a Great Britain player.
Down by a man, it was India who took the lead through Harmanpreet Singh in the 22nd minute from a penalty corner before Great Britain drew level through Lee Morton from a field effort in the 27th minute.
Once Rohidas, a key defender and India’s first rusher, was given the controversial marching order, Great Britain attacked in numbers, constantly trying to take advantage of the one-man lead.
‘Today was our day’
Speaking to broadcasters after sealing famous win for India, Sreejesh said, “(It is a) daily job of a goalie. Some days it’s a different effort (but) today is our day. Even in the shootout, the guys who took shots didn’t disappoint."
“They scored and that gave me enough confidence," the Indian goalkeeper said.
“When I stepped on this field today, there was two options for me. This can be my last match, or I got an opportunity for two more matches and I think, yeah, I got two more matches now," he said.
Sreejesh said Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist India will focus on their game in the semifinals.
“See, whoever comes in the semis, we (will) just play our game. That’s it, that’s important, because now it’s a different game, because we are one man down and we need to focus on that now," he said.
Sreejesh said India will wait for the FIH’s (International Hockey Federation) decision on the red card shown to Amit Rohidas with more than 40 minutes left in the game.
“I don’t know how it’s going to be. They must take a decision on that. We are just waiting for that, but still, we need to play our best game in the semifinals," he said.
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