Indian Men’s Hockey team loses to Germany by a heartbreaking 2-3 in the Paris Olympics semifinals

Paris Olympics: On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, the Indian Men’s Hockey team competed against Germany in the Paris Olympics 2024 men’s hockey semifinal. India took the early lead against the opponents before team Germany attacked with intensity in the fourth and final quarter and seized the match with a late goal. Germany Men’s Hockey Team are three-time Olympic champions, known for their steely resolve. Captain Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh scored for India, while Gonzalo Peillat, Christopher Ruhr, and Marco Miltkau scored goals for Germany.

The match started with hope for the Indian Men’s Hockey team. Harmanpreet Singh pressed the German defense hard and scored an early lead in the first quarter, but Germany’s Gonzalo Peillat soon equalized it in the second quarter. Germany got a lead from a penalty stroke by Christopher Ruehr, which India’s Jermanpreet Singh failed to block. India leveled with Sukhjeet Singh flicking a Harmanpreet penalty-corner into the German goal. Germany’s Marco Miltkau restored the lead after this. India came close to equalizing in the final few seconds but failed. Shamsher Singh’s shot was sent wide of the mark by just millimeters of the German goalpost, making the Indian Men’s Hockey team lose the semifinals.

This was a heartbreaking moment for the Indian Men’s Hockey team as this was the closest they had come to making the final for the first time in 44 years. Before this match, India’s performance had been quite good. They won against the Australians in the group stage and took down Great Britain in the quarterfinals after being reduced to a 10-man side. The match against Germany was nail-biting for the viewers. The Indian team had earned 11 penalty corners but converted just one while the German team secured only four penalty corners and converted two.

The outcome left the players feeling dejected. Captain Harmanpreet Singh was distraught and fighting back tears after coming so close to securing a gold. Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was also fighting back tears. This was especially heartbreaking for him as the experienced goalkeeper is set to retire from international hockey after the Paris Olympics 2024. When asked about his thoughts, PR Sreejesh said- “It’s a heartbreaking loss for us. We had the chance to win gold, but now, we have to forget this semifinal and focus on the bronze medal match,”.This was the first time Team India was so close to entering the Olympic finals since the 1980 Games.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh spoke to Jio Cinema after the match. “This is extremely disappointing as we came here to win a gold medal. But, having said that, it’s better to go home with bronze than nothing,” he added- “When you lose in the semifinal game, it’s not that easy to take as reaching the final is a dream of any athlete,”. Despite their dismay, both Harmanpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh agreed that securing a bronze medal would be a better outcome than returning home empty-handed. Germany is all set to face the Netherlands in the final. India will compete for Bronze against Spain on August 8.