In 49 years ,the Indian hockey team will figure in an Olympics semifinal for the first time .
The quest for a semifinal spot, dating back to 1976, has ended. The Indian men beat Great Britain 3-1 in the quarterfinals in Tokyo on Sunday, fighting back waves upon waves of attacks from the British in the final quarter, to enter the semifinals of the Olympics for the first time since 1972.The Indians must next beat world champions Belgium in the semifinals on Tuesday to ensure a medal for themselves.
The second semifinal will be played between Australia and Germany the same evening. After leading Great Britain 2-0 until nearly the end of the third quarter, India were made to fight hard to keep their lead. The frayed nerves in the Indian camp were finally settled in the 57th minute, when Jalandhar lad Hardik Singh scored on a counterattack to restore his team’s two-goal advantage with less than three minutes to go.
Two other fellow Punjabis, Dilpreet Singh and Gurjant Singh, had scored a goal each in the first two quarters to give India a 2-0 lead. As Great Britain attacked back in desperation, Sam Ward scored in the last minute of the third quarter, opening the door slightly against the Indians — before Hardik slammed it shut.
India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh stood strong in the goal in the latter half of the match, making several fine saves to keep his team’s lead. Hardik’s goal was the 16th by a player from Punjab in Tokyo, out of the total 19 scored by India.
