TOKYO (Reuters) – India reached the semi-finals of the men’s hockey Olympics for the first time since 1980, with a 3-1 victory over Great Britain in preparation for its match against Belgium at the Tokyo Olympics. .
Australia and Germany play the other semi-final match.
India, which won the last eight gold medals in hockey at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, advanced 2-0 at the end of the first half thanks to goals from Dilpreet Singh and Gurjant Singh. After India conceded a goal in the 45th minute, India wrapped up the win as Hardik Singh made it 3-1 just minutes before the end of the match.
“We are very happy to have reached the semi-finals after such a long time,” said Indian playmaker Manpreet Singh.
“We still have two games left, so…we have to get down to business.”
Belgium ended Spain’s streak with a 3-1 win, including two goals from league top scorer Alexander Hendricks, who played with a bandage on his head to protect a wound to his forehead.
Earlier on Sunday, Australia reached the semi-finals by defeating the Netherlands on penalties in the sweltering heat of Tokyo, while Germany defeated Argentina.
A solid performance from goalkeeper Andrew Charter, who kept a clean sheet in the penalty shootout – Australia won 3-0 from 2-2 at the end of regular time – helped Kookaburras to win the match.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Charter said. “Getting out of here and taking the load a little bit is good for my confidence and good for the team going forward defensively.”
The Australians had twice taken the lead thanks to two goals from Tom Wickham, but saw a draw against the strong Dutch side with goals from Mink van der Werden and Jeroen Hertzberger.
As a result of the result, the Dutch men’s team no longer participated in the semi-finals of the Olympic hockey tournament for the first time since 1984.
Germany opened the scoring against Olympic champions Argentina in the 19th minute when defender Lucas Windeder hit a narrow and low penalty on the left side of the goal, denying Argentine goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi the opportunity to stop the ball.
And the German side consolidated its supremacy in the second half after a goal from another penalty kick. The fourth quarter saw one goal from each side, including Windfeder’s second, to make the final 3-1.
“The weather is hot and Argentina is hot, we just want to keep it cool and play our German style, and I think we did,” said striker Christopher Rohr.
(Reporting by Daniel Losink) Editing by Lincoln Fest, Shri Navaratnam, Ana Nicholas Da Costa, Hugh Lawson and Preeta Sarkar
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