Indian hockey players celebrate a goal during the quarterfinal match against Great Britain. India will be facing Germany in the men’s hockey semifinal at the Paris Olympics on August 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Ritu Raj Konwar
Having displayed nerves of steel to be within touching distance of a second successive Olympic medal, the Indian hockey team will fancy its chances against familiar foe and reigning world champion Germany in the semifinal of the ongoing Games, hoping to better the bronze that it claimed in the Tokyo edition.
India won last of their eight Olympic gold medals way back in the 1980 Moscow Games. Paris provides them a great opportunity to make history.
A semifinal win will ensure a silver for India, which they last won in the 1960 Rome edition. The Indians displayed a tenacious performance against Britain in the quarterfinal at the iconic Yves-du-Manoir Stadium on August 4.
Playing with 10 men for close to 40 minutes after Amit Rohidas was shown a red card for unintentionally hitting rival forward Will Calnan on his face, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side defended stoutly to hold Britain 1-1 in regulation time and force a shoot-out, where it emerged 4-2 winner.
Dominant Dozen: Indian’s record of Olympic hockey medals in pictures
India clinched its first-ever Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey in 1928. The team secured a significant victory, paving the way for many more triumphs in subsequent Olympics. Dhyan Chand emerged as the star with 15 goals.
Indian hockey wizard Dhyan Chand moves with the ball in the match against the U.S. which India won by 24 goals to 1 during the Los Angeles Olympic Games 1932. The Indian team scored 35 goals in two matches to clinch the gold medal.
Dhyan Chand goes over a defender as India beat France 10-0 during the Berlin Olympic Games hockey match on August 12, 1936. India defeated host Germany 8-1 in the final to secure its third gold medal.
India’s goalkeeper L. Pinto rushes out to intercept a Dutch forward in the semi-final against Holland while Trilochan Singh and Gentk (second from left) anxiously watch on, during the Olympic Games Hockey match at the 1948 Olympics. India won its first Olympic medal as an independent nation, defeating Great Britain 4-0 in the final.
Pankaj Gupta celebrates with Dharam Singh. The Indian players’ joy knew no bounds after winning gold at the Helsinki Olympic Games 1952.
Balbir Singh Sr. and his team made history by securing India’s sixth consecutive gold medal in men’s hockey. The players get a grand welcome in Madras on December 22, 1956.
Danish goalkeeper Nielsen dives to save from the attacking Indian player Udham Singh, in the eliminating round of the Olympic Games hockey match between India and Denmark at Rome on August 28, 1960. India’s gold-medal run came to an end as the team lost in the final to take home the silver medal.
Charanjit Singh, captain of the Indian hockey team waves from the podium to the crowd after beating Pakistan in the final of the 1964 Olympic Games hockey tournament in Tokyo
India’s Gurbux Singh (right) and Balbir Singh II (left) celebrate after the second goal against Germany which won India the bronze medal at the 1968 Olympic Games held at Mexico City.
India’s Singh Kulwant, centre, pierces through Pakistan defence of Munawaruz Zaman and Akhtarul Islam during the Olympic games hockey match at Munich on September 8, 1972. Pakistan won 2-0 as India ended with a bronze medal.
The victorious Indian Hockey Team after winning the Gold Medal defeating Spain 4-3 in the Olympics in Moscow on July 31, 1980. It would be India’s last gold medal in hockey.
Indian players pose as they celebrate their victory over Germany in the men’s field hockey bronze medal match, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo. It was India’s first Olympic medal in hockey in 41 years.
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Veteran goalkeeper P R Sreejesh, playing his last international tournament, seemed to have saved his best for the last leg of his career as he made save after save, including two in the shoot-out, to seal India’s second consecutive Olympic semifinal spot.
It was one of the bravest performances from the Indians as in modern day hockey, to play and win with a man down is a Herculean task.
And come Tuesday, Harmanpreet and his men would not only look to better the colour of their Tokyo medal but would also want to give a befitting farewell gift to the talismanic Sreejesh who will walk into the sunset after the Paris Games.
Nicknamed ‘The Great Wall of Indian hockey’, Sreejesh has been phenomenal in the Games so far, standing like a warrior in front of the post and enjoying every moment of his last hurrah at the Olympics.
Against Britain, Sreejesh made 10 spectacular saves from field shots. If that was not enough, he kept out 10 penalty corners.
“When I stepped on this field today (Sunday), there were 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,” Sreejesh said later.
“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.” But it won’t be easy for the Indians as key defender and first rusher Amit Rohidas has been suspended from the semifinal match after receiving a contentious red card against Britain, a decision which Hockey India has appealed.
Rohidas’ absence will also weaken India’s options from penalty corners as he has been second to Harmanpreet from set pieces and the entire responsibility will now rest on the skipper.
“Now, these things are not in our control. While it is a setback to not have Amit on the pitch for the semis, we are focused on the task at hand,” said Harmanpreet, who has been India’s leading scorer at the Games with seven goals.
“On Sunday, what stood out in our performance was the team’s ability to take on the added responsibility of a key position that Amit played. Every player stepped up and even until the last minute, we were fighting back.” Going by world ranking and recent head-to-head record, there is hardly anything to differentiate between current world champions and four-time Olympic gold medallists Germany from India.
While Germany are ranked fourth in the world, the Indians are a rung below. Germany, who beat Argentina 3-2 in the quarterfinal, are familiar opponents for India in high-stakes tournaments, the most famous being the bronze medal match in Tokyo where India registered a thrilling 5-4 win, thanks a stunning last-second save by Sreejesh.
In the days leading up to the Paris Games, India had played Germany in practice matches and the Harmanpreet-led side won five out of those six contests.
India’s most recent contests against Germany were in the FIH Pro League’s London leg in June this year, where they defeated the Honamas 3-0 before losing 2-3 in the return tie.
“We wanted to play Germany in the final. At least, that was what we had discussed amongst ourselves during team meetings ahead of the Olympic Games.
“They are challenging opponents and when we play against them, the match usually goes down till the last second,” said Harmanpreet.
In the other semifinal, Netherlands will quare off against Spain.
