Harmanpreet Singh passes the ball during the men’s pool B match against Ireland during the Paris Olympic Games at Stade Yves Du Manoir in Paris, on July 30, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
In punishing heat and draining conditions, Harmanpreet’s first-half brace enabled India to overcome a strong challenge from Ireland and post a 2-0 win in a Pool-B hockey match of the Olympics at the Yves du Manoir Stadium in Paris on July 30.
With two wins and a draw, India has gathered seven points from three matches and has almost made it to the quarterfinals.
After conceding goals first against New Zealand and Argentina, India had a better start as it explored the gaps and passed the ball well to put pressure on Ireland.
Abhishek was brilliant on the left as he combined with Sukhjeet to earn India’s first penalty corner in the second minute.
India’s persistence paid off in the 11th minute as Gurjant made a superb interception and went up to combine with Mandeep Singh. The latter was felled inside the circle and the resultant penalty stroke put India ahead with Harmanpreet slotting it, beating Irish keeper David Harte on the left.
Following a longer inter-quarter break due to excessive heat, which made goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh to rest on the shade behind the post to save energy, India carried on its momentum to double its lead.
India got three successive short corners and Harmanpreet’s power-packed drag-flick got deflected from a defender’s stick to the top left corner of the post in the 19th minute.
India’s 11 circle penetrations as against Ireland’s 4 in the first 30 minutes spoke of the tempo of the match.
The third quarter belonged to Ireland, which fought well against Belgium and Australia before going down 2-0 and 2-1 respectively, exhibited more organised hockey and got eight penalty corners in the space of five minutes as India loosened its grip. But Sreejesh and company were alert enough to block everything.
India was lucky to see another moment of scare, when Benjamin Walker missed a sitter after Amit Rohidas and Jarmanpreet had been beaten inside the circle, pass off.
Ireland maintained pressure to secure two short corners, including one in the last minute, in the fourth quarter. But India managed to put up a better show to claim full points.
“We should not have conceded that many PCs in the second half. We have to work on that. But at the same time, we did not concede a goal and that tells our PC defense. But yes, we can’t afford so many PCs,” Jarmanpreet said.
Sukhjeet said the team struggled to control the ball in the latter half. “We could not control the ball in the third quarter and they made full use of that. They are a good team, we expected a comeback. Yet, we did better in the final quarter,” he said.
The result:
India 2 (Harmanpreet 11-ps, 19-pc) bt Ireland 0.
