Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of Indian men's hockey team's Tokyo 2020 quarterfinal game against Great Britain. This was Dominic Richard taking you through the action as it unfurled at the Oi Stadium.
That's it for today. Thanks for tuning in!
FOLLOW BLOG |
Goals from Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh and Hardik Singh help India beat Britain and reach the last-four at the Olympics. Tomorrow, the women's hockey side will take on Australia in a quarterfinal fixture at 8:30 AM IST.
Great Britain clearly dominated this match. But it struggled with its finishing up front. The British outfit won eight penalty corners and converted only one. Meanwhile, India had no PCs all game, but still scored three goals.
MATCH REPORT |
What a historic win for India! The team will face Belgium in the semifinals on Tuesday (August 3) at 7 AM IST. If the Indians win that game, they will face either Australia or Germany in the summit clash on Thursday.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
THE MATCH IS OVER! INDIA BEATS GREAT BRITAIN 3-1 TO MAKE THE OLYMPIC SEMIFINALS!!!
60' Great Britain is also down to 10 now. Liam Ansell makes his way to the bench after receiving a yellow card. The British lose their referral in an attempt to win a ninth penalty corner.
57' GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!!! INDIA 3 - 1 GREAT BRITAIN!!! Hardik Singh you beauty!!!!!!!! Nilakanta Sharma won the ball in midfield and the Indians initiated a quick counter-attack. Hardik Singh received a pass and made an amazing solo run. He released a first shot on target, which was saved by British keeper Ollie Payne. The rebound fell back to him, and Hardik scored from a tougher angle.
54' YELLOW CARD! Indian captain Manpreet Singh is booked by the umpire for a diving tackle. India is down to 10. SAVE! Once again, Sreejesh saves India's blushes. But the custodian is injured here. Pause in play.
52' GOOD TACKLE! India's Simranjeet Singh comes up with a wonderful interception during a dangerous Great Britain move forward. The Indians regain possession.
50' India hasn't won a single penalty corner yet today. The side has already lost its review too. Great Britain is attacking with numbers forward right now. Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh just saved a PC, the seventh for the British this match.
47' ANOTHER PENALTY CORNER FOR BRITAIN! The British players try to work out yet another variation. But they are not able to score the equaliser.
THE FOURTH QUARTER IS UNDERWAY!
We are headed towards an exciting final 15 minutes. Stay tuned!
THE THIRD QUARTER IS DONE AND DUSTED!
45' THREE CONSECUTIVE PCs FOR GBR! AND GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!! INDIA 2 - 1 GREAT BRITAIN!! Drag-flicker Phillip Roper worked out a variation during the third penalty corner. He slipped a pass to Samuel Ward who pulls a goal back for the British. The Indian defence could have done better there.
42' The Indian players are just passing the ball between themselves to frustrate the opposition. They are looking to see off this 15-minute period with the 2-0 lead.
39' The British have dominated the overall possession and have more attacking circle penetrations in this game so far. However, India has been much more clinical up front.
36' A green card for Great Britain forward Liam Ansell now. He brought down Indian skipper Manpreet Singh with a terrible tackle.
33' GREEN CARD! Indian defender and drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh has been penalised by the umpire. He's heading to the bench.
THE THIRD QUARTER STARTS!
Gurjant Singh has extended India's lead after Dilpreet Singh gave the team a 1-0 advantage in the opening 15 minutes. Great Britain looks quite deflated right now. Thirty more minutes to go in the second half. Stay tuned!
THE SECOND QUARTER IS OVER!
30' The British players are spending too much time on the ball. Brendan Creed tries to send a pass into the circle with 10 seconds remaining on the clock. But the Indian back-line stays calm and clears it away.
28' BRITAIN COUNTER-ATTACK! Zachary Wallace gets to a loose ball and rushes forward with it. He tries to find his teammate James Gall with a quick pass up front. However, he put too much power on the ball as it rolls out of play.
25' CHANCE FOR INDIA! Indian midfielder Nilakanta Sharma evades a couple of tackles from British defenders and enters the circle through the right flank. Eventually, too many players surround him and take the ball away.
22' The goal-scorer Dilpreet Singh has been green carded by the umpire. He will spend some time on the bench now. India down to 10 men on the field.
19' India has completely turned around this game after some first-quarter domination from Great Britain. The team looks extremely composed in the middle.
16' GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!!! INDIA 2 - 0 GREAT BRITAIN!!! Indian forward Gurjant Singh received the ball inside the shooting circle, completed a great turn and beat British keeper Ollie Payne.
THE SECOND QUARTER IS UNDERWAY!
A solitary goal from Dilpreet Singh is the difference between the two teams as India holds a 1-0 lead over Great Britain in this Olympic quarterfinal match in Tokyo.
THE FIRST QUARTER COMES TO AN END!
15' CHANCE FOR INDIA! Mandeep Singh sprints forward on the right flank. However, he loses the ball as he attempts to enter the circle.
12' SHOT! Manpreet Singh let one fly from long. None of his Indian teammates were able to deflect the ball into goal. Meanwhile, India has already lost its review today.
10' WHAT A TACKLE! British forward Rupert Shipperley was going forward with the ball. He got into the box and looked menacing. However, India's Varun Kumar intercepted him and averted the danger for his side.
7' GOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!! INDIA TAKES A 1-0 LEAD!!! Dilpreet Singh received an inch-perfect pass from Simranjeet Singh and found the back of the net at close range.
6' The British outfit has dominated the early exchanges of this game. India is looking a bit rusty here, giving away the ball in midfield often.
3' PENALTY CORNER FOR GBR! Samuel Ward comes up with the drag flick. He has a shot on target, but the Indian players block the ball and regain possession.
1' EARLY CHANCE FOR INDIA! Nilakanta Sharma released Mandeep Singh up front. But too many Great Britain defenders surrounded the Indian forward and he gave away a free-hit.
AND THE MATCH BEGINS!
The players from both teams are out on the field, and it is time for the national anthems, which will be followed by the toss in the middle.
The team lineups are out!
INDIA XI: PR Sreejesh (GK), Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Manpreet Singh (C), Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Dilpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Sumit.
COACH - Graham Reid.
GREAT BRITAIN XI: Adam Dixon (C), David Ames, Sam Ward, Zach Wallace, Ollie Payne (GK), Liam Ansell, Brendan Creed, James Gall, Phil Roper, Tom Sorsby, Jack Waller.
COACH - Danny Kerry.
“Los Angeles was a huge challenge,” recalled Mervyn Fernandes, member of the 1980 Olympic gold medal-winning Indian men's team. According to him, India’s style of play - four forwards - meant there was pressure to play flexible roles. “For the first time ever, we played total hockey, defending and attacking well," he added.
FULL STORY |
In case you missed it, Vandana Katariya’s hat-trick inspired the Indian women’s hockey team to a 4-3 win over South Africa in its final Pool A game and propelled the team into the quarterfinals. India's progress to the knockout round was confirmed only after fifth-placed Ireland lost 0-2 to Great Britain and exited the Olympics.
READ MORE |
MATCH PREVIEW:
Expectations are high from the Indian men’s hockey team, which takes on Great Britain in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.
India had lost to eventual silver medallist Belgium in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Rio Games. But this time, the Manpreet Singh-led side, which has improved a lot in the last five years in terms of performance and ranking, is considered a serious contender for a podium finish.
If India gets past Great Britain, it will reach the medal round at the Olympics for the first time in 41 years. The last time India reached the semis was in the 1980 Moscow Games, where it won its eighth gold and the last Olympic medal.
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The present Indian squad is one of the fittest in the Games and is ranked among the best as far as skills are concerned.
India reached the quarterfinals by recording wins over New Zealand (3-2), Spain (3-0), Argentina (3-1) and Japan (5-3) and finishing second in Pool A with 12 points. Its only loss, a 7-1 drubbing, came in the group stage against Australia.
The biggest positive about India’s performance in the group stage was the way it fought back after suffering a big loss to Australia. The self-belief in the side enabled it to rely on its strengths and secure three consecutive wins to ensure a place in the quarterfinals.
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India’s hardworking defenders will have to be on their toes -- especially against Britain’s Liam Ansell, who has scored four field goals for his team. Sam Ward will be another threat.
The Manpreet-led midfield must continue its good work to support their colleagues on back and forward lines.
The Indian forwards, including Gurjant Singh and Simranjeet Singh, have performed better as the event has progressed.
Great Britain had two wins against lower-ranked South Africa (3-1) and Canada (3-1). It drew with Belgium (2-2) and Netherlands (2-2) and lost to Germany (5-1) to get eight points and was placed third in Pool B.
Even though India has a better record in its group matches, the knockout stage will be a different ball game.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs):
- At what time will the Indian men's hockey team be in action?
The hockey game against Great Britain will start today at 5:30 PM IST (9 PM local time). - Where to watch Indian events at Tokyo Olympics?
The Sony Sports Network will broadcast Tokyo Olympics live in India.
Sony TEN 3 HD/SD will telecast India events with Hindi commentary while Sony TEN 1 HD/SD and Sony TEN 2 HD/SD will have English commentary.
Live streaming of the events will be available on the SonyLIV and JioTV apps.
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