A 10-man India, toughened by sessions of mental training with Paddy Upton and adventurer Mike Horn, showed character in a nerve-wracking, drama-filled quarterfinal contest to edge past Great Britain through a penalty shootout in the Paris Olympics at the Yves du Manoir Stadium here on Sunday.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medal-winning Indians beat the Britons 4-2 in a tense shootout following a 1-1 deadlock in the regulation period and claimed a spot in the semifinals in successive Games.
Playing with one man down for nearly three quarters, India quickly adapted to the unexpected situation. It displayed one of its best shows of clinical and compact defence in a do-or-die situation.
In the gripping encounter in front of a near-capacity house, with strong and noisy spectators rooting for their sides, Great Britain applied pressure early to secure two penalty corners and created two more moves from the right, which was blocked by Sreejesh.
India impressed with a couple of moves. On one occasion, Hardik Singh and Mandeep Singh combined beautifully, and later a well-coordinated chain of passing moves, through Harmanpreet-Hardik-Abhishek, that threatened the Great Britain post.
Great Britain earned another short corner, while India secured three consecutive ones towards the end of the opening quarter.
In the action-packed second period, India received a major setback in the 17th minute when Amit Rohidas’ stick hit William Calnan’s head. Rohidas, carrying out the triple responsibility of a defender, a penalty corner defender and a scorer, was red-carded and brought a huge burden for India.
With Manpreet replacing Rohidas at the back, India not only guarded its citadel well but also counterattacked with more determination. Harmanpreet found a gap to convert the fourth penalty corner and pump up the team.
Great Britain’s effort on the right flank brought it success as Lee Morton capitalised on a cross and his shot got deflected from Sreejesh’s left hand into the goal close to the half-time.
The Britons maintained pressure after the change of ends and picked up three penalty corners but their attempts were foiled by the alert Indian defenders, who showed intent and character and warded off dangers calmly.
India was down to nine men at the stroke of the third break when Sumit was issued a green card for a dangerous clearance amid a round of booing from the British supporters.
Coach Craig Fulton’s stress on defence and flexibility worked wonders. Even as Great Britain relentlessly pushed the Indian defence from both flanks, the Harmanpreet-led backline stood as firm as a rock. When the regulation period ended in a 1-1 deadlock, the Indian camp punched in the air.
Harmanpreet, Sukhjeet, Lalit Upadhyay and Raj Kumar Pal scored for India in the shootout, which had more drama in store than one expects in pure action.
There was a halt before Sukhjeet’s attempt as British goalkeeper Ollie Payne appeared to have used an iPad on the pitch, which apparently is not allowed in the rule books. The device was removed before action resumed.
After Conor Williamson shot the ball over the bar, Sreejesh, who made 20-plus saves despite a hamstring issue and applied a spray before going into the penalty shootouts, made an excellent save off Phillip Roper’s last attempt.
Pal beat Payne to trigger wild celebrations on the pitch and in the stands.
The result: India 1 (Harmanpreet 22) vs Great Britain 1 (Morton 27); Penalty shootout: India 4 (Harmanpreet, Sukhjeet, Lalit Upadhyay and Raj Kumar Pal) bt Great Britain 2 (James Albery, Zach Wallace).
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