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This triumph concluded their pool matches on a positive note, having already secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the men’s hockey tournament at the Paris Olympics.
The Indian team’s captain, Harmanpreet Singh, played a pivotal role in the win, scoring two goals in the 13th and 32nd minutes.These goals brought his total tally to an impressive six goals in the tournament so far.
The opening goal for India was scored by Abhishek in the 12th minute, setting the tone for the rest of the match and giving his team an early advantage.
Tom Craig (25th) and Blake Govers (55th) were the goal scorers for Australia.
PR Sreejesh, the experienced Indian goalkeeper, put on a remarkable display in his final international competition. His numerous saves were crucial in maintaining India’s advantage.
India achieved a historic victory against Australia in the Olympic hockey tournament, marking their first triumph over the Australian side since the 1972 Munich Olympics.
The Indians began aggressively, making two circle entries within the first two minutes.
Sreejesh stood firm in front of the goal, making crucial saves to thwart the Kookaburras.
In the 11th minute, Sreejesh made his first save, stopping Tom Wickham, which led to a penalty corner. However, Jeremy Hayward’s resulting attempt missed the target.
Jarmanpreet Singh then delivered a powerful pass from the right flank to Sukhjeet Singh, who only needed to deflect the ball. However, he struggled to control the forceful strike, and the strong Australian defense easily thwarted his attempt before he could gather the ball and prepare to shoot.
Australia created two consecutive opportunities, but the Indian defense remained solid.
India shocked Australia by taking the lead in the 12th minute through Abhishek. Lalit received a pass in an empty D and attempted a shot, which was saved by goalkeeper Andrew Charter. Abhishek quickly seized the rebound, turned, and hammered the ball past Charter.
A minute later, India earned a penalty corner when the ball struck Jake Harvie’s foot, and Harmanpreet capitalized by beating Charter’s defense with a powerful, grounded flick.
Tim Brand had an early opportunity to reduce the deficit in the second quarter, but his shot went wide.
Australia earned their second penalty corner of the match in the 19th minute, but Govers’ shot was blocked by Sreejesh.
Vice-captain Hardik Singh was a dynamo in the midfield, consistently feeding the forwards.
In the 25th minute, Australia earned their third penalty corner. Although skipper Aran Zalewski’s injection was poor, the Australians recovered quickly, passing the ball to an unmarked Craig at the second post, who deflected it in.
India soon earned a penalty corner as well, but this time Harmanpreet’s strike was denied by Charter. India led 2-1 at halftime.
India earned their third penalty corner when Manpreet Singh was tackled by an Australian defender. Harmanpreet’s strike towards the goal was obstructed by Flynn Ogilvie, prompting India to take a referral, which resulted in a penalty stroke.
Harmanpreet made no mistake in converting the opportunity.
Australia earned another penalty corner just before the third quarter ended, but they failed to capitalize on it.
In the final quarter, India secured back-to-back penalty corners but couldn’t make the most of them.
In the 53rd minute, Abhishek found the back of the net again after being fed by Mandeep Singh, but the goal was disallowed due to a stick check.
Five minutes from the final hooter, Govers scored his seventh goal of the tournament from a penalty stroke, reducing the margin.
Despite the late pressure, the Indian defense held firm, securing a historic win over Australia.
