Now, the 2014 Asian Games champions will have to face Belgium, who have topped Pool A with four wins and a loss.
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It wasn’t that the Indians played badly in the quarterfinal. Both Sania and Bopanna lost serve to trail 0-5. A Manpreet Singh long ball found Akashdeep deep inside the circle in front of Belgium’s goal.
Maria Granatto then doubled the lead with a field goal in the 23rd minute.
So how did they fare on the whole?
They have made it to the quarter-finals as expected, and now begins the hard journey to the semis.
The U.S. women’s field hockey team gained even more momentum Thursday evening in Rio after beating No. 13 India, 3-0.
So, in the end India had little to gain from another wasted campaign in the Olympics. Sindhu put up a fantastic show to nail down the opponent in the last two sets.
And the way they played in the pool stage, especially against top sides like reigning champions Germany and former gold medal winners Netherlands, raised the hopes of millions following them back home. That is a sign of the respect this Indian team commands and should take heart from in the future.
Sreejesh feels they will be a tough side to beat.
“The energy level dipped especially in the second quarter where so many chances to score goals were missed”. Katelyn Falgowski made a reverse-stick pass to Bam who chipped the ball over a defender’s stick and into the goal.
And the grey areas, one asks.
India also had lapses in concentration and discipline at key moments.
Belgium came out stronger in the second quarter, and the game soon settled into a defence vs attack style. When Niklas Wellen was yellow-carded, Seve van Ass scored for the Netherlands.
Conceding late goals has been India’s Achilles heel on the world stage and it continued this time around too.
The last aspect which went missing in the last-eight fixture in particular was self-belief. Katherine Reinprecht’s attempt though bounced off a US stick, to land safely and out of bounds, leaving India with some breathing space and the opportunity to settle in the game. Ten members of their fifth placed London 2012 squad, which effortlessly beat India 3-0, have been retained.
“You never quite know how you’re going to move until you get here”, Parnham said.
On the whole, this was the kind of performance Indian hockey fans would have expected at the very least.
As a team, Belgium have risen in the ranks over the past decade and are rated as one of the most feared teams in world hockey for their attacking style of play.
The Indian women were appearing in their first Olympics since the 1980 Moscow Games, and coach Neil Hawgood, an Olympian in 1988 with Australia, said this team’s achievement was to reach the Olympics, and the experience would be wasted if they didn’t qualify for 2020.
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The start of that journey in Rio was good, but just not enough.
