Paris Olympics: 'We wanted to play Germany in final', says Harmanpreet ahead of hockey SF

Paris, Aug 5 (IANS) After scripting a heroic win against Great Britain in the Quarter-Final of the Paris Olympic Games, a charged-up Indian men's hockey team led by Harmanpreet Singh will take on a familiar foe in Germany on Tuesday in their quest to 'change the colour of the medal', here at the iconic Yves-du-Manoir Stadium.

For India, Harmanpreet (22’) netted a goal, while Lee Morton (27’) was on the scoresheet for the Great Britain as the match ended with score tied at 1-1 in the regular time, thus forcing the game into the shootout, where India converted all their chances and denied their opponents twice to win the match 1-1 (4-2 SO) and make it to the semifinals, where they face world no 2 Germany.

Ahead of the semifinal, skipper Harmanpreet expressed that the team wanted to play the final against a challenging opponent, Germany.

"We wanted to play Germany in the final. At least, that was what we had discussed amongst ourselves during team meetings ahead of the Olympic Games. They are a challenging opponent and when we play against them, the match usually goes down till the last second," said Harmanpreet.

While the team has been handed a setback with their defender and No.1 penalty corner rusher Amit Rohidas suspended for one match following the hearing on late Sunday night and subsequently Hockey India has appealed against this decision to the FIH jury bench, the players will stay focused on what is in their control.

"Now, these things are not in our control. While it is a setback to not have Amit on the pitch for the Semis, we are focused on the task at hand. On Sunday, what stood out in our performance was the team's ability to take on the added responsibility of a key position that Amit played. Every player stepped up and even until the last minute, we were fighting back," Harmanpreet expressed.

The reigning World Champions, Germany, come into the semifinal after a hard-fought 3-2 win against Argentina in the quarter-final. They are a familiar opponent for India in high-stake tournaments, the most famous one being the bronze medal match in the Tokyo Olympic Games where India registered a thrilling 5-4 win - thanks to a stunning last-second save by Sreejesh from a PC, ending a 41-year medal drought at the Olympic Games.

In the days leading up to the Paris Olympic Games, India had played Germany in practice matches and in the most recent past, India have won five out of the six matches they have played against them.

"Past performances wipe clean and we start fresh on Tuesday. We don't want to go by our results against Germany in the past. What we will take confidence from is our own performance in Paris, where we have grown from strength to strength as we have progressed in the tournament.

"Certainly, the win against Australia in the last pool B match gave us the josh we needed for the quarterfinal, and now we take courage from the quarterfinal against Great Britain where we played with 10 players for nearly 43 minutes," added India's vice captain Hardik Singh.

There have been many firsts for this Indian side at the ongoing Olympic Games. First-time in 52 years, the team won against nemesis Australia. This was followed by a 10-man Indian side beating a strong opponent like GB in the quarterfinal, and for the first time, the team has a goalkeeper who has announced this will be his last dance, and the team is fighting to make sure the swansong doesn't end just yet for Sreejesh, who has stood like a warrior in the goalpost making every moment count.

The fans will be hoping India come up with another sweet first by making the final of the Olympic Games, a quest that has eluded the Indian team since the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

"There are different kinds of sentiments among the team at this Olympic Games. We not only want to change the colour of our medal but we also want to win it and make it special for Sreejesh who has stood tall in the post. We got into the Quarter-Final with a thought that this should not be our last with Sreejesh, likewise, we will go into the semis wanting to win it for Sreejesh," Hardik signed off.

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