PARIS: It was electric inside the Yves du Manoir hockey stadium. And most of the electricity was coming thanks to surging Indian forward runs. Against world champions Germany, India took the game to the opposition, won loads of penalty corners, got their gameplan right... in fact they were perfect for vast swathes of the match. But, when they wake up on Wednesday morning, it will be filled with regret. They somehow lost 2-3. Now, they have the chance to beat Spain and retain the bronze they won in Tokyo.
India dominated for large parts of the match, especially in the first three quarters. They forced Germany back so much that they were playing on the counter. In the fourth quarter, things changed. Germany found that bit extra in their feet and started attacking a bit more.
After struggling for penetration in the first three quarters, they started to find a wee bit of space. It told as a sweeping move was diverted goalwards by Marco Miltkau from close range. PR Sreejesh, who was at it again, tried his best to keep it out but it beat his effort. After that, India had no choice but to go with 11 outfielders. They came oh so close at the end but a long-range strike agonisingly went over the bar before the final hooter cut through the air.
The evening sun was still beating down as the game started. At stake for India was more history; a final for the first time since winning gold in 1980 in Moscow. The start saw India attacking down both flanks. What yielded more penetration was from the right. India dominated the first five minutes. A flurry of penalty corners ensued. India finally converted through the dependable Harmanpreet Singh. The goal came from the sixth attempt.
India sensed that their opponents were there for the taking. Soon after going 1-0 up, Harmanpreet had another opportunity from the dead ball but he missed the target. But the one thing this German side are well equipped with is to stay in the game, drag it out and catch the opponent cold. That's what happened when Gonzalo Peillat, the Argentine great who switched nationalities after getting into disagreements with the federation, scored from a penalty corner to restore parity.
India still created chances from open play but the wily Germany went up the other hand and created another penalty corner. A video referral later, they were awarded a stroke which Christopher Ruhr converted.
But this iteration of the Indian side don't die wondering. They beat Australia. They played against 10-men Great Britain for 43 minutes and beat them. This team does not lack in belief. On the azure astro turf, they kept repeating pretty attacking patterns. They were convinced that an equaliser was around the corner.
It came via another pc, this time from the stick of Sukhjeet Singh.
As soon as they levelled, the venue exploded. The chants changed to 'Indiaaaaa, India'. Post that goal, Germany did well to take the sting out of the game. India are at their most dangerous so they were happy to concede possession of the ball in dangerous areas. When the last stanza began, they went on the offensive as they earned four penalty corners in a six-minute period.
India also seemed to be a tad slow to close down. And then came the sucker punch as Miltkau deflected the ball home. This loss will hurt but with another important match, they can go back home with a shiny metal disc around their necks.