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The Indian men's hockey team pulled off a stunning win over Great Britain in the quarterfinals of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Sunday. What made this win special was the fact that India were down to 10 players for a large part of the game - thanks to a red card for Amit Rohidas.
Despite being a player down, the Indian team rallied and kept Team GB at bay to ensure that the game stood at a 1-1 after the end of 60 minutes of play. As a result, the game went into a penalty shootout.
Then, India's strikers and their veteran goalkeeper - playing as well as he ever has - stepped up to the challenge and took India into the semis.
To dive deeper into India's amazing performance on Sunday, here are the player ratings for the team.
Player ratings for India from their Paris 2024 Olympics quarterfinal against Great Britain
Jarmanpreet Singh - 8/10
Jarmanpreet was as dependable as ever with his performance on the day. With India being a player down, the defense needed to be airtight, and the tall defender was up to the challenge.
Abhishek - 7/10
Abhishek was again impressive, but due to the circumstances that India found themselves in - a player down - he had to give up his attacking play and help out the defense. The striker still managed to have some good moments in attack and did his part in keeping the ball out of the danger zone as much as possible.
Manpreet Singh - 8/10
Once Amit Rohidas was sent off, India had to change their tactics. They knew they could not leave any gaps in the defense and not go one-on-one with the opposition players. In this situation, Manpreet performed the duties of a defender and did so very well.
Hardik Singh - 8/10
Hardik had his best match of the tournament thus far. The ace Indian midfielder showed his superior skills on several occasions and often took the ball away from British players. Like everyone else, he fell back into the last 25 to block the attacking channels of Team GB and used his great stickwork, whenever needed, to keep possession.
Gurjant Singh - 7/10
Like everyone else, Gurjant was efficient on the day. Though he didn't have much work to do due to India not having too many attacking opportunities, he didn't commit any costly errors.
Mandeep Singh - 8/10
Mandeep has to be especially praised because he understood the situation and to make up for a player less, gave up his attacker's role and fell back in defense. Whenever GB tried to launch an attack by going into high press, Mandeep pressurized the full-backs and made them deliver hasty passes.
Harmanpreet Singh - 9/10
Harmanpreet's career has come full circle since his disastrous showing at the 2023 World Cup in India. He scored a crucial goal from a penalty corner and also managed to keep his team focused and calm when they were in danger of losing their minds over the red card to Amit. Harmanpreet also converted the first attempt of the shootout to ensure that India didn't come under any pressure.
PR Sreejesh - 9/10
If he wasn't already, PR Sreejesh became the toast of the nation after his heroics in this match. He made many crucial saves in the regulation time, which prevented GB from capitalizing on the one-player advantage they had. Then, he stepped up to the challenge in the shootout and led his team to a memorable win.
Sumit - 7/10
Sumit was in decent form also. With his fellow defender Amit out of the match, he stepped up and performed his role efficiently.
Shamsher Singh - 6.5/10
Shamsher didn't have much of a role to play in this match. However, he could have made a bigger impact, hence a low rating for him.
Amit Rohidas - 2/10
One cannot justify Amit Rohidas' foul that left India a player down for around 43 minutes. He dangerously raised his stick without any need for it. He was doing his job well till then. Amit's mistake could have cost India dearly, luckily, it didn't.
Sanjay - 7/10
On a day when the Indian defense had to play out of their skins, Sanjay did his job very well. India's defensive structure remained intact, despite their most important defender being off the field, and Sanjay was a part of that process.
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay - 7/10
Lalit's successful strike during the shootout was a testament to his brilliant skill and temperament. Even in the match, he was relatively good. This wasn't a match for the forwards to get very creative and Lalit remained honest to that requirement.
Raj Kumar Pal - 8/10
The Indian midfield sunk deep into their half to block the GB attackers and stop their passes. Raj Kumar Pal also did this job dutifully and also retained possession at crucial times for his team.
Vivek Sagar Prasad - 8/10
Another match, another great performance from the diminutive midfielder. He worked the ball nicely past the opponents, when required, and also helped out the defense with his resilient tackling.
Sukhjeet Singh - 7.5/10
Sujkhjeet Singh didn't have a great match but he stepped up under pressure to score the goal in the shootout and ensured India remained on course for a win.
