Paris Olympics: India to take on Germany in semifinals of men's hockey

PARIS: The world number five India will take on Germany, the four-time Olympic gold medalists and current FIH Hockey World Cup champions in the semifinal of the men's hockey competition at the ongoing Paris Olympics on Tuesday.

This fixture has finally been confirmed after fourth-ranked Germany's 3-2 win over seventh-ranked Argentina in the quarterfinal on Sunday.

The other semifinal will witness the Netherlands take on Spain. The Netherlands, which is the third-ranked team currently and has two Olympic golds, defeated Australia by 2-0 to secure their semifinal spot. The sixth-ranked Australia, which is also a three-time World Cup winner, suffered a serious setback as they registered two big losses to India (their first against the Asian giants in the Olympics since 1972) and the Netherlands in succession.

Spain confirmed their semifinal spot by beating world number one and current Olympic champions Belgium by 3-2 in their quarterfinals.

Harmanpreet Singh-led Indian men's hockey team defeated Great Britain in a thrilling quarter-final match at the Paris Olympics and advanced into the semi-final on Sunday.

As the score scores were level 1-1 after the end of regulation time, India won the shoot-out 4-2 and made the semi-finals.

In the second quarter of the quarter-final match, India took a 1-0 lead after skipper Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner. India had four penalty corner opportunities while Great Britain had five in the second quarter.

Earlier in the second quarter, India's Amit Rohidas was given a red card after he raised his stick and caught opponent William Calnan's head. India played the rest of the match one-man down.

Before half-time, Great Britain's Lee Morton scored the equaliser and gave his side a moment to breathe. In the second half, Great Britain failed to score, despite multiple opportunities.

Meanwhile, in the shoot-out, India scored all four of their attempts. While Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh saved one helping India move into the semis of the tournament.

Earlier in the previous match, the Indian men's hockey team bounced back in the men's competition with a 3-2 win over Australia in their Pool B match at the ongoing Summer Games.

Two names shined bright on India's scoresheet in the first quarter, with Abhishek (12') and skipper Harmanpreet Singh (13') scoring within a space of two minutes at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium. Thomas Craig (25') however, converted a penalty corner to bring Aussies back into the hunt.

Harmanpreet scored his second goal in the third quarter, starting in the 32nd minute. A late penalty conversion from Blake Govers in the 55th minute ensured a thrilling end to the contest in which India collected three points.

Currently, the Indian contingent has won three bronze medals at the Paris Olympics and all of them came in shooting.