Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of Indian women's hockey team's Tokyo 2020 bronze medal game against Great Britain. This was Dominic Richard taking you through the action as it unfurled at the Oi Hockey Stadium.
That's it for today. Thanks for tuning in!
On the other hand, the Netherlands, ranked number one in the world, will square off against World No.2 Argentina in the summit clash later in the evening.
MATCH REPORT |
So the Indian women's national hockey team finishes fourth at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, while defending champion Great Britain claims the bronze.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
AND THE MATCH IS OVER! GREAT BRITAIN BEATS INDIA 4-3 TO WIN THE BRONZE MEDAL AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS!!!
60' One last chance for India! Nisha wins the ball in midfield and sets up Sharmila Devi up front. However, Great Britain avoids a penalty corner with some excellent defending inside the circle as the ball is cleared away.
56' Great Britain has made a whopping 23 attacking circle penetrations as opposed to India's nine today. Sjoerd Marijne's side has to go all-out attack from here, maybe take out the goalkeeper.
52' India down to 10 yet again. Sharmila Devi is green carded by the umpire and sent to the dugout. But, just moments later, the Indians win a PC. Gurjit Kaur takes it and doesn't score the equaliser.
48' GOOOOAAAAAALLLLL!!!!! GREAT BRITAIN TAKES A 4-3 LEAD!!! This was another penalty corner for the team. Grace Balsdon was the drag-flicker this time around. She sent the ball straight through the legs of the keeper into goal.
47' India concedes a penalty corner and Udita receives a yellow card for a rough challenge. India is down to 10 on the field. However, the Indians successfully defend the PC after a bold block from Nisha.
THE FOURTH AND FINAL QUARTER IS UNDERWAY!
India and Great Britain are tied 3-3 right now. Just 15 more minutes to go. Stay tuned!
THE THIRD QUARTER IS OVER!
44' WHAT A SAVE! WHAT A BLOCK! Indian shot-stopper Savita Punia makes her sixth save of the game as Elena Rayer fails to find the back of the net. The rebound falls to Lily Owsley, but her shot is blocked by Neha Goyal as India initiates a counter-attack.
41' India has won five penalty corners so far, and scored from two of those. Meanwhile, Great Britain is zero from three in PC attempts. The Indians also have the advantage in shooting efficiency (38%).
38' The Indian defence is clearly struggling here as Britain is attacking with numbers forward. Since the heat level is up, the players will have a re-hydration break now.
35' GOOOAAALLLL!!!! GREAT BRITAIN 3 - 3 INDIA!! Just moments after Savita Punia made a great save to deny Isabelle Petter at close range, chaos ensued inside the India circle. Eventually, British skipper Hollie Pearne-Webb found the equaliser.
33' PENALTY CORNER FOR GBR! Giselle Ansley will take this one as well. Here comes a variation as the ball is flicked towards Sarah Jones. However, Monika Malik comes to India's rescue with a good clearance.
THE THIRD QUARTER STARTS!
A double from Gurjit Kaur and a strike from Vandana Katariya cancelled out goals from Elena Rayer and Sarah Robertson as India came from 0-2 down to hold a 3-2 lead over Great Britain at the end of the first half. Thirty more minutes to go. Stay tuned!
THE SECOND QUARTER IS DONE AND DUSTED!
29' GOOOAAALLL!!!! INDIA TAKES A 3-2 LEAD!! Vandana Katariya scores her fourth goal of the tournament. Sushila Chanu sent a cross from the left. Sharmila Devi wasn't able to control it. The rebound fell to Navneet Kaur, who completely missed the ball. Vandana eventually got to it and slotted it home.
26' GOOOAAAALLL!!! GURJIT KAUR SCORES AGAIN AS INDIA EQUALISES!! This was another Indian PC and Gurjit went for a drag flick on the same direction as the previous goal -- towards the left of British keeper Maddie Hinch.
25' GOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!! INDIA PULLS A GOAL BACK!! Gurjit Kaur, India's lead drag-flicker, scores for a third consecutive game at the Tokyo Olympics. The Indians had won back-to-back penalty corners and Gurjit converted the second one with precision.
24' GOAAAAALLLL!!!!! GREAT BRITAIN 2 - 0 INDIA!!! The British players make maximum use of their numerical advantage. Shona McCallin rushed to the middle from the right and set up Sarah Robertson inside the shooting circle. The latter executed a delightful finish to find the back of the net.
22' GREEN CARD! India is down to 10 on the field now. Midfielder Nisha is booked by the umpire for a stick check. And she will spend at least two minutes on the bench.
19' VERY CLOSE! Lalremsiami received the ball, took a delightful turn and had a shot on target. But British goalkeeper Maddie Hinch dived to her right and pushed it away.
16' GOOOAAAALLLL!!!! GREAT BRITAIN TAKES A 1-0 LEAD!! Forward Elena Rayer came up with brilliant run on the right flank. She evaded tackles from a couple of Indian defenders, entered the circle and tried to pass the ball to a teammate. However, it hit the stick of India's Deep Grace Ekka and went into goal.
THE SECOND QUARTER IS UNDERWAY!
Nothing to separate the two teams as the score stays 0-0. Three more quarters to go. Stay tuned!
THE FIRST QUARTER ENDS!
15' Great Britain has clearly dominated the opening 15 minutes, when it comes to the possessional, attacking and passing stats.
12' DOUBLE SAVE! India's custodian Savita stays solid yet again. She denied both Elena Rayer and Sarah Jones at close range. Britain could have easily taken the lead here.
10' Great Britain wins its second PC of the day, thanks mainly to Lily Owsley who entered the circle with pace. But the British players mess up the set-piece big time.
7' CHANCE FOR INDIA! Neha Goyal wins the ball in midfield and sprints up front. She attempts to send a cross into the middle from the right but gets dispossessed.
5' Great Britain has already won a penalty corner today. Giselle Ansley had come up with the drag-flick and Indian goalkeeper Savita Punia made a good save.
2' Navneet Kaur receives a pass from her skipper Rani Rampal and moves forward on the right flank. However, the British defence stays alert to win the ball back.
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: Savita Punia (GK), Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Udita, Neha Goyal, Monika Malik, Rani Rampal (C), Navneet Kaur, Vandana Katariya, Navjot Kaur, Nisha.
COACH - Sjoerd Marijne.
GREAT BRITAIN XI: Giselle Ansley, Maddie Hinch (GK), Hannah Martin, Shona McCallin, Lily Owsley, Hollie Pearne-Webb (C), Ellie Rayer, Sarah Robertson, Anna Toman, Susannah Townsend, Laura Unsworth.
COACH - Mark Hager.
MATCH PREVIEW:
They have already surpassed all expectations and the Indian women's hockey team will now look to go a little further and notch up its maiden podium finish at the Olympics when it takes on Great Britain in the bronze medal play-off on Friday.
The men's team rewrote history on Thursday as it claimed an Olympic medal after 41 years, defeating Germany 5-4 to win the bronze in an edge-of-the-seat thriller. And having already recorded their best-ever Olympic performance, the Indian women would look to double the nation''s joy.
But it would be easier said than done for the Indians as they were thrashed 1-4 by Great Britain, which is the defending champion, in the group stage. Having failed to emulate its gold-winning performance in Rio five years ago, Britain would be desperate to at least sign off its campaign with a podium finish.
But India can take heart from the fact that contrary to the final score-line, it was a close match against the British earlier in the tournament. It wasted several chances in that game and could have made it closer with better finishing skills.
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India had won as many as eight penalty corners, but converted just one back then. However, the team would take a lot of confidence from its spirited performance against World No.2 Argentina in the semifinals even though it lost the outing 1-2.
The Indians fought valiantly and gave the Argentine outfit a run for its money but were guilty of conceding penalty corners at crucial junctures, which eventually proved costly. With nothing to lose from here, World No.7 India would fancy its chances against World No.4 Britain.
There is no pressure on the side as the 18 fearless and determined women had already done the unthinkable when they stunned three-time champion Australia 1-0 to enter the Olympic semifinals for the first time.
India's best performance at the Olympics came way back during the 1980 Moscow Games where it finished fourth out of six teams. In that edition, women's hockey made its Olympic debut and the sport was played in a round-robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the final.
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Despite the heart-breaking loss against Argentina, India's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne is focussed on the job at hand.
"We came here to win a medal and still there's one (available). It's now about recovery, about the mindset. The good thing is, it's not always good that we lost a lot in the past but we also have learned to deal with the losses," Marijne had said.
The Dutchman feels the need of the hour is to grab the opportunities that come their way. "In these matches it is about taking your opportunities." Captain Rani Rampal too said the competition is not yet over for the Indians.
"The tournament is not over yet. We still have a chance to win a bronze medal. An Olympic medal is a medal. If you win gold that is nice but still bronze is a medal, so we will fight for that medal and we will focus on the next match," she added. Meanwhile, the Netherlands will play Argentina in the final on the same day.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs):
- At what time will the Indian women's hockey team be in action?
The hockey game against Great Britain will start at 7:00 AM IST (10:30 AM local time) on Friday.
- 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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