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Despite being reduced to 10 men for over 40 minutes following Amit Rohidas‘s red card, India, led by a superb performance from veteran custodian PR Sreejesh, held their ground to remain on course for a second consecutive Olympic medal.
The score was tied 1-1 in regulation time, leading to a shoot-out where Sreejesh made crucial saves to keep India’s hopes alive. India will now face the winner of the quarterfinal match between Germany and Spain in the semifinals.
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Amit Rohidas received a red card in the 16th minute for raising his stick against a Great Britain player, leaving India a man short early in the match. The decision forced the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalists to defend valiantly against an attacking Great Britain side for the remainder of the match. Despite these challenges, the Indian team showcased their resilience and determination.
Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring for India in the 22nd minute from a penalty corner. Great Britain quickly responded, with Lee Morton equalizing from a field effort in the 27th minute. With Rohidas, a key defender and first rusher for India, controversially sent off, Great Britain pressed hard, trying to exploit their numerical advantage.
“Sreejesh always does that, saving us all the time,” former captain Manpreet Singh was quoted as saying by PTI after the match. “We were not bothered by losing one man; we prepare for such situations in training. I played the role of defender after losing Amit. It was a great win,” he added.
The game intensified as Great Britain employed man-to-man marking to neutralize India’s aerial balls strategy, which had been effective in pool matches. Despite this, Sreejesh stood firm in goal, making numerous saves to keep India in contention. Great Britain dominated possession with a pacy start, restricting play largely to India’s half. They built their attacks with short, coordinated passes from both flanks, and earned their first penalty corner in the fifth minute, which India defended stoutly.
India saw their first penetration into Great Britain’s half when vice-captain Hardik Singh sent a pass to Mandeep Singh. Abhishek had a strike at the British post in the 11th minute, but Great Britain custodian Ollie Payne blocked the shot with his extended right leg. Great Britain got another penalty corner soon after, but Jarmanpreet cleared it, making a goal-line save to deny Sam Ward.
Towards the end of the first quarter, India earned their first penalty corner but could not capitalize as Harmanpreet Singh failed to trap the ball properly. Four minutes into the second quarter, Rohidas was controversially shown a red card for involuntarily hitting a British player with his stick, which left India to play with 10 men for the rest of the match.
Defending with one man down, India focused on holding their ground as Great Britain pressed hard with relentless attacks. Sreejesh made several crucial saves, including a penalty corner attempt by Tom Sorsby. Harmanpreet scored from India’s fourth penalty corner, but Morton’s goal soon neutralized India’s lead.
In the second half, India’s defense initially played better but faced continuous pressure with back-to-back penalty corners for Great Britain. Sreejesh continued his stellar performance, blocking several attempts from Great Britain.
The score was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation time, leading to a shoot-out.
In the shoot-out, Sreejesh blocked efforts from Connor Williamson and Phillip Ropper. James Albrey and Zach Wallace scored for Great Britain, but Harmanpreet, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, and Rajkumar Pal scored for India, sealing their place in the semifinals.
