India defeats Great Britain in shootout to secure Paris Olympics semifinal spot

New Delhi, Aug 4: The Indian men’s hockey team secured a spot in the Paris Olympics semifinals by defeating Great Britain 1-1 (4-2) in a shootout on Sunday.

This marks the first time since the 1972 Munich Olympics that India has reached the semifinals in men's hockey in two consecutive Olympic Games. Previously, India won consecutive bronze medals in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. After winning bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, India is now aiming to replicate or improve on that performance in Paris.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored for India in the 22nd minute, while Lee Morton equalized for Great Britain in the 27th minute. With the match tied at 1-1, it went to a shootout where India successfully converted all their chances and denied Great Britain twice, winning the quarter-final match 1-1 (4-2) to advance to the semifinals.

Great Britain started the game aggressively, with India counter-attacking. The first 15 minutes were intense but scoreless.

In a controversial moment, India’s Amit Rohidas received a red card two minutes into the second quarter, reducing India to 10 men for the rest of the match. Despite this setback, Harmanpreet Singh scored his seventh goal of the tournament through a penalty corner in the 22nd minute, giving India a 1-0 lead against the run of play.