Super Sreejesh takes India to semifinals; Goalkeeper’s heroics help his side beat Great Britain

PARIS: 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 semifinals 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.

Great Britain dominated possession and played with man-to-man marking, not allowing India to attack much.

In the absence of Rohidas, Manpreet Singh, who plays in mid-field, was asked to man the defence.

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.

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 focused on defence, we played to a structure and today communication between the players was pretty good. It was a team effort,” Harmanpreet said.

The skipper said they had to forget the red card and move forward.

“We could not change what had happened. It was a team effort, it was our best defence, playing with 10 men, that was a hard part.”

“At this stage, we can’t afford to be nervous, no matter who we play or we play extra man or not. That mind-set will remain in the next match.”

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.

Once Rohidas, India's first rusher was given the controversial marching order, Great Britain attacked in numbers, constantly trying to take advantage of the one-man lead.

Great Britain dominated possession with their brisk start. The play was largely restricted to India’s half. The red shirts build up their attacks with short, coordinated passes from both the flanks.

They earned their first penalty corner in the fifth minute for a dangerous play from the Indians when Zach Wallace sent a pass to Furlong just inside the circle. The umpire initially didn't award the short corner but the British went for a refer