The Indian team recorded a brilliant performance by reaching the semi-finals of the Olympic Games for the second time in a row. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has been instrumental in the historic victory of the Indian team. Sreejesh successfully repelled around 28 strong attacks by Great Britain while defending the goal. The team played excellently despite being a man down. They are eyeing their second consecutive medal in the event.
Sreejesh, who played in his last Olympic event, kept the Indian team’s medal hopes alive with a brilliant save. Sreejesh once again became the impenetrable wall of the Indian hockey team. For 42 minutes, the Indian player played with ten players. However, the Indian team defeated Great Britain 4-2 in a penalty shootout. The nation could qualify for the semi-finals of the event due to the heroics of the keeper. He successfully repelled every attack by Great Britain and did not allow them to take the lead.
The team has so far lost just one game in their Group of Death Pool. They lost to defending champions Belgium 2-1. Otherwise, they finished second in the group that had Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and Ireland. They will be playing against Germany in the semi-final. It will be a huge task for the nation to qualify for the final.
India has a re-match of 2020 Tokyo Olympics
PR Sreejesh after his heroics said, “This is the daily work of a goalkeeper. Sometimes the conditions are different but today was perfect even in the shootout. Our players scored goals and my confidence grew. When I entered the arena, I had only two options. It would have been my last match or I would have had a chance to play two more matches. After all, now I will get two more matches.”
India’s captain Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjit Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, and Rajkumar Pal scored goals in the shootout. For Great Britain, James Albury and Jack Vallance managed to score. Connor Williamson missed the target and Philip Roper’s shot was saved by Sreejesh. It will be a rematch of last time’s bronze medal match where the keeper was strong against the Germans to earn a medal for India.
