A disjointed India’s Olympic hockey medal hopes went up in smoke as they crashed 1-3 to Belgium in the quarter-final here on Saturday.
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Germany led 2-0 soon after halftime thanks to nice touches in front of goal, but the Dutch cut the margin just before the fourth quarter. Netherlands defender Mink van der Weerden, leading the competition with seven goals, had all four of his corners saved.
India’s Namita Toppo, left, fights for the ball with United States’ Kelsey Kolojejchick during a women’s field hockey match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016.
Argentina didn’t just survive and advance, they dominated en route to a quarterfinal appearance with a 5-0 win over India. The Great Britain versus Spain match will start at 18:00, with Netherlands taking on Argentina at 20:30. They gave Germany and Holland a run for their money but a win eluded them.
Argentina, always dominant against India, settled down after Martina Cavallero opened the scoring hitting in a rebound off a penalty corner in the 16th minute.
The last ten minutes were utterly thrilling, with Germany piling on the pressure before eventually going for broke by replacing goalkeeper Nico Jacobi with an outfield player with six minutes remaining.
Sreejesh was again there to save India’s blushes early on in the second half as Thomas Briels got behind the Indian backline for the first first time.
If the US continues that trend and advances to Wednesday’s semifinals, the squad could face its toughest challenge yet – the victor of the Netherlands vs. FIH No. 2 Argentina. “It was not that we played badly but we had some good opportunities to score, we missed out on crucial penalty corners which affected us but the team is 100 per cent ready both mentally and physically for the Belgium attack”, an affirmative Goalkeeper and Captain Sreejesh said after the match. Paumen’s shot to the stick side of goalie Sally Rutherford went in off the post.
“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”.
Sombroek appeared to be unpassable but enjoyed some luck.
This was followed quickly by the first penalty corner of the match being awarded to the Belgians as a slip from Kothajit in the D saw the ball deflect off of his knees.
The reaction of China coach Cho Myung Jun summed up the match against South Korea, as he gritted his teeth and flailed around after every missed chance.
Rio de Janerio: A nervy India squandered a one-goal advantage as they allowed Canada to stage a fightback with a late strike and earn a 2-2 draw in their final men’s hockey pool game of the Rio Olympics Games here today.
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The other probable quarterfinals on Sunday will be: Netherlands vs. Australia, Belgium vs. India, and Spain vs. Argentina.
