India has yet again failed in the semi-final of the Paris Olympics 2024. The nation this time has failed in Hockey. They lost to Germany 3-2 in the semi-final of the multinational event. The men’s hockey team’s dream of ending a 44-year-old wait to enter an Olympic final remained unfulfilled. They performed superbly throughout the tournament. The team finished second in the Group that consisted of Belgium, Argentina, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.
In the last Olympics in Tokyo Manpreet Singh-led team ended India’s 41-year-old wait for an Olympic medal in hockey. They won bronze with a 5-4 victory against Germany. Three years later a similar opponent took their revenge in the semi-final handing the Indian team a painful defeat on Tuesday. The last time India qualified for the final was in 1980. That, incidentally, was India’s 8th and last hockey goal medal at the major event.
Harmanpreet Singh’s side started the game excellently. They applied immense pressure on the German defence from the first minute of the game. They earned a penalty corner in the 2nd minute of the first quarter. But the team had below below-par conversion rate from the penalty corner and they failed to take the lead. It took them seven attempts to finally convert a penalty corner into a goal.
India’s wait for gold continues
Why does India choke again in the knockouts? India has the habit of choking in the knockouts and crucial games. Not only in the Olympics but in every other sport they participate in. This is the second time that the nation has failed to qualify in the finals of the Olympics in Hockey. In Tokyo also after performing brilliantly, they failed. It has been a problem over the years.
They wasted golden opportunities to double their advantage and that cost them. India was unable to generate a coordinated attack due to many midfield errors. However, they have a good chance of winning the bronze medal yet again as they face Spain on Thursday.
