Later, a hard tackle and subsequent action saw India’s Raghunath and Sunil being sidelined for indiscipline for 10 minutes and five minutes respectively.
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The Indian goalkeeper Sreejesh was brilliant and saved a penalty corner to maintain India’s lead in the first half.
Goalie Jackie Briggs kept the US alive in a scoreless first half, and they scored first against the run of play when Michelle Vittese scooped up loose ball, drove into the circle, and lashed in a ground shot.
Then, James Coughlan went on a mazy run up the middle to the circle where he fed an unmarked Nick Wilson to blast in. Always relying on direct attacks, they had two men hovering over India’s “D’ for the entire duration of the match – even when they were 3-1 up”. “I never expected a medal from this Olympics but to have come fourth is very creditable”.
But New Zealand tried to work a penalty corner, and Germany counter-attacked. India, on the other hand, looked completely out of sorts.
Argentina’s battled their way past Spain 2-1 to set up a battle with reigning Olympic champions Germany, who produced a staggering fight-back from 2-0 down to defeat New Zealand 3-2.
However, India broke the deadlock on 33 minutes when Ssardar earned a penalty corner by forcing a defender to make mistakes.
The state of Maharashtra received the highest viewership for the Olympics telecast along with an urban share that was ten times larger than the viewership among rural audiences.Tamil Nadu experienced the largest share of rural audiences watching the Olympics telecast in India.
The Netherlands go from one old Olympic rivalry to likely another, against top-ranked Australia, and leading 6-5 overall.
Going by world rankings, there is hardly anything to differentiate between the two teams as India are placed fifth while Belgium is just one rung below at sixth position in FIH chart.
India, a night after losing to the Netherlands, couldn’t shake off Canada in their draw, the first point Canada took off India in Olympic competition since the 1964 Tokyo Games. It’s Argentina’s first time in the semifinals in 11 Olympics, and Belgium last played for a medal in 1928. “We’re pretty slack when it comes to the real key areas of goal-scoring and keeping the ball out”. The Netherlands, seeking an unprecedented third straight gold medal, will play Germany on Saturday for potentially the victor of the pool and a supposedly easier route to the semifinals.
“The energy level was a bit low, we conceded from penalty corners and some poor goals”.
“The game can change till the last moment in hockey, so it’s more important till the end how we concentrate and try to get a lead”.
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India attacked strongly in the final quarter and Vandana Katariya nearly single-handedly fashioned a chance out of nothing, twisting away from her marker inside the circle before unleashing a reverse hit that went wide of the mark.
