Goalkeepeer PR Sreejesh turns back the clock with multiple saves during regulation time and back-to-back blocks in shootout as 10-man India beat Great Britain 4-2 to storm into semi-finals; skipper Harmanpreet, coach Fulton hail veteran custodian
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh (in yellow) is surrounded by teammates after India’s win over Great Britain yesterday; (below) Sreejesh acknowledges the crowd after the victory. Pics/Getty Images
A battle-hardened PR Sreejesh gave a big fillip to the Indian hockey team’s aspirations of winning a second consecutive Olympic medal with his splendid shootout saves in a 4-2 victory over Great Britain that earned his side a place in the semi-finals of the Paris Games here Sunday. Playing most of the match without key defender Amit Rohidas, who was shown a red card for hitting a rival player with his stick, the team did extremely well to hold Great Britain to 1-1 in regulation time.
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Reduced to 10 men on the pitch, India could not play scoop balls, a strategy that worked for the side in previous matches, but it managed to escape without getting hurt. It all boiled down to how Sreejesh would perform and the veteran goalkeeper did not disappoint, blocking the third and fourth attempts by Connor Williamson and Phillip Ropper after the score was tied 2-2 in the shootout.
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James Albrey and Zach Wallace had scored earlier for Great Britain, while skipper Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay and Rajkumar Pal sounded the board for India. “We had no option but to keep the score tied till the end. We focussed on defence, we played to a structure and today communication between the players was pretty good. It was a team effort,” Harmanpreet said.
Harmanpreet acknowledged Sreejesh’s role in the win, but insisted that it was not a one-man show. “Sreejesh is a legend, he is one of the best we have. He is saving us from day one. But even if you ask him, he will say it was a team effort, so team first, then individual.” India had taken the lead through Harmanpreet in the 22nd minute from a penalty corner before Great Britain drew level through Lee Morton from a field effort in the 27th minute.
Coach Craig Fulton said team dealt with the situation the way it should have been dealt. “We’ve been talking about defence for 14 months and we dug deep and Sreejesh was immense. When you talk about defence, it’s also about showing your love for your teammate by covering him and helping him. And Sreejesh did that for us and we did that for him.”
Hockey India raises concern about quality of umpiring
Hockey India have officially raised a complaint regarding the quality of umpiring and decision-making during their win over Great Britain. The issues raised are:
(i) Inconsistent video umpire reviews, particularly regarding the red card decision for an Indian player, which has eroded trust in the video review system,
(ii) Coaching of a goalkeeper from behind the goalpost during the shoot-out,
(iii) Use of a video tablet by a goalkeeper during the shoot-out.
British goalkeeper Ollie Payne had his Ipad removed from the pitch during the penalty shoot-out after it emerged he was using it to refer to notes before facing each penalty.
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