Paris Olympics 2024: India lose 2-3 to Germany in men's hockey semi-final, face Spain in bronze medal clash
Paris: India lost 2-3 to Germany in the men's hockey semi-final of the Paris Olympics 2024 on Tuesday. It was a dream opportunity for India to enter the Olympic final after 44 years, but Germany spoiled it. Captain Harmanpreet Singh (7th) and Sukhjeet Singh (36th) scored for India, while Gonzalo Peillat (18th), Christopher Ruhr (27th) and Marco Milkau (54th) scored for Germany.
India will now face Spain in the bronze medal match, while Germany will face the Netherlands in the final. The Indians started brightly and dominated the opening exchanges before the Germans regrouped themselves. It was a great opportunity for India to reach their first Olympic final since the 1980 Games but Germany dashed their hopes with a decisive goal in the fourth and final quarter.
The Indians were on the front foot in the opening quarter putting heavy pressure on the German defense and in the process Harmanpreet scored the first goal of the match. But the Germans, known for their fierce determination, came back strongly in the second quarter and equalized through Pellat from a penalty corner, before Ruhr converted a penalty stroke to take the lead.
The Indians got both their goals through penalty corners as Sukhjeet made a fine save from Harmanpreet's flick in the 36th minute. The Germans attacked with intensity in the fourth and final quarter and just six minutes from the final hooter, Miltkau deflected in a cross to break the Indians' hearts.
The Indians had their chances in this match as they earned as many as 11 penalty corners but converted only one penalty corner. On the other hand, Germany only got four penalty corners.
