India on a roll against Japan; Great Britain up next in quarter-finals

NEW DELHI: They say that in hockey, the tournament starts in the quarter-finals. If that is the case, let’s get the news out of the way—India will play Great Britain on Sunday for a last four spot, something that has not been achieved since the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which they eventually won for their eighth and last gold.

Now to Friday’s match. Already through to the last eight by cementing the second spot in Group A,

India beat hosts and

2018 Asian Games champions Japan

5-3. The game was inconsequential but gave India the opportunity to build on their winning momentum, especially after the 1-7 humiliation—their worst loss in the Olympics—against Australia. India have regrouped to win three back-to-back matches, even dominating defending champions Argentina.

“It’s been a phenomenal recovery,” said former goalkeeper Ashish Ballal, a key member of India’s victorious 1998 Asian Games squad. Skipper Manpreet Singh and the players have quickly regained the winning spirit. Gurjant Singh (17th, 56th), Harmanpreet Singh (13th), Shamsher Singh (34th) and Nilakanta Sharma (51st) scored for India. With 61% possession, Graham Reid’s boys made 32 penetrations to Japan’s 10, though they converted only five of their 17 shots, a familiar story in the tournament.

Sreejesh’s role

Despite Japan scoring through Kenta Tanaka (19th min), Kota Watanabe (33rd) and Kazuma Murata (59th), India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has been a sensation in the goal. Sreejesh, playing in his third Olympics, has been an outstanding motivator, constantly sending out instructions to the players, screaming to communicate during the game. Next up are Great Britain, who finished third in Group B but significantly, drew 2-2 against world champions Belgium on Friday. India will have to make sure they don’t concede penalty corners, stay sharp and make systematic attacks to up the conversion rate. It will be vital for India to play a percentage game against the 1988 Seoul champions.

Women win too

For the first time since 1980 Moscow, India women’s team won a match at the Games, a stunning 1-0 verdict against Ireland, the 2018 World Cup runners-up. After losing their first three matches to Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain, Navneet Kaur’s 57th minute deflection of skipper Rani Rampal’s reverse shot clinched their first win, keeping hopes alive for the quarter-finals. India will first need to beat South Africa on Saturday.