Before they gave themselves a chance to etch their names in the annals of Indian hockey, they played as if playing an ode to the legends of yore.
This one will hurt. Not so much because India lost, but for the kind of hockey they played — scintillating at times, dazzling always, but peppered with costly mistakes — the Harmanpreet Singh-led side would feel they deserved more.
Alas, it wasn’t to be. And the 44-year wait to reach the final of the Olympic Games was extended by four more. India lost 3-2 to Germany in a thrilling semifinal of the Paris Olympics, despite taking an early lead.
India, however, will have another shot at the podium and at least match the Tokyo bronze medal when they face Spain in the playoff match on Thursday.
For the core of the team that ensured India’s return to the podium for the first time since 1980 — there are 11 of them in Paris — and hoped to take another giant stride in the team’s evolution, it was a case of falling agonisingly short yet again. This is an anti-climatic end to India’s surging fortunes, which they hoped would lead them to their first Olympic final since 1980.
India vs Germany semi-final highlights
India had to work extra hard, run more and strategically use the players given they had one player less in the playing squad, 15, than Germany. The suspended Amit Rohidas was missed at both ends, with his first rushing in penalty corner defence and as a back-up drag-flicker for Harmanpreet.
In a way, they ‘out-Germanied’ Germany — the world champions are one of the few teams with the discipline and doggedness to overcome such odds, as they have done many times in the past.
And this was a German team that had been on a roll. Coming into Tuesday’s game, they had scored 19 goals at an average of a little more than 3 per game; a majority of them coming from open play.
Even in defeat, India were sparkling to watch when in full flow. Hardik Singh drew intricate patterns on the field, using his supple wrists to hypnotise the German defence and make them dance to his tunes. This one time, early in the first quarter, he showed the defender one way, went the other and found a foot inside the ‘D’. Seconds later, he dribbled past three defenders to draw another penalty corner. Both times, he punched the air as if celebrating a goal.
The tiny Vivek Sagar Prasad, too, joined the party. A 5’2” Indian was boxed into a corner by two six-foot-plus German defenders, who did everything in their capacity to intimidate him.
Far from fearing them, Vivek skillfully nutmegged Niklas Wellen, and changed the direction of the attack to the right flank, where there were plenty of unmarked Indian bodies. He casually looked back at Wellen, and smirked. That one image neatly summed up India’s dominance in the first quarter.
India set such high standards in the opening exchanges that it was always going to be tough to sustain that level, especially against a German side that thrives on making comebacks. (PTI)
Stellar display
They were rewarded with a goal, with Harmanpreet Singh – who else — giving India the lead by scoring his eighth goal of the Games to become the top scorer.
This was Fulton’s India showing another version of themselves. After being ultra-defensive against Britain, they went full-throttle from the first pass. The strategy rattled Germany, who held an emergency mid-quarter team huddle on the top of their ‘D’.
India set such high standards in the opening exchanges that it was always going to be tough to sustain that level, especially against a German side that thrives on making comebacks.
It's a little dejected feeling but our boys will get up again and will go all out against Spain in the Bronze medal match on Thursday.
Here are some glimpses from tonight's game. #Hockey #HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #WinItForSreejesh#Paris2024 #INDvsGER
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.@CMO_Odisha… pic.twitter.com/5vo94tmlJ4— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 6, 2024
En route to becoming world champions last year, the Germans came back from early deficits three times in the knockout stages — against England in the quarterfinals, Australia in the semis and Belgium in the final.
They clawed their way back into the match once again by keeping possession, making India move from one side of the pitch to another, and exploiting their weaknesses on the pitch.
The Germans drew two mistakes from defender Jarmanpreet Singh — finding his foot to win penalty corners and a penalty stroke — which allowed them to overturn the first-quarter deficit into a half-time lead, with Gonzalo Peillat and Christopher Ruhr scoring to make it 2-1.
India levelled through an unlikely penalty corner variation. Harmanpreet played it wide towards the right of the German goalkeeper, where an unmarked Sukhjeet Singh reacted in time to deflect it into the net. Germany didn’t see the variation coming, they charged their rushers to block the India captain from unleashing one of his feared flicks. Harmanpreet celebrated by pointing a finger to his head.
But in the key moment, late in the fourth quarter, that’s what India did not use. A slight lapse in concentration allowed Germany to sneak into the Indian ‘D’ from the right flank through the baseline and a cross played in front of goal was deflected in by Marco Miltkau in the 54th minute.
When the final hooter sounded, Indian players exited the field with their shoulders dropped and a feeling of resignation. When they reflect, they’ll realise that they were gallant even in defeat.
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