In a resilient display, the Indian men's hockey team beat Great Britain 4-2 in penalty shoot-out after the Quarter Final match was tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation time. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh’s composure helped Team India as he saved 11 shots on goal, denied four penalty corners and saved two shots on goal in the penalty shootout.
India had to play most of the match with a player down after Amit Rohidas was given a red card early after his stick hit the face of a Great Britain player. Captain Harmanpreet Singh gave India the lead in the 22nd minute. Great Britain drew parity soon with an equaliser from Lee Morton. The game went into penalty shootouts, where Sreejesh again emerged as the hero to save two shots from Conor Williamson and Philip Roper. India’s Rajkumar Pal, like his teammates, converted his chance to help India enter the Semi Finals. India will meet the winner of the Quarter Final clash between Argentina and Germany in the semifinal on August 6.
Following the match, Sreejesh said, “I said to myself, it could be my last match or if I save it I can play two more matches here. Happy for the win.” The 36-year-old hockey player from Kerala had said that the Paris Olympics would be his “last dance” and he would announce his retirement at the end of the games.
This is the first time since 1972 in Munich that India has reached the semifinals in men's hockey in two successive Olympic Games. India had won the bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. India had defeated Australia in a tight encounter in their last group match on Friday, August 2. The last time the result went in favour of India was in the 1972 Munich Olympics.