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India's quest to advance to an Olympic final in men's hockey after a 44-year wait came to an end following a 2-3 defeat to Germany at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Paris on Tuesday (August 6).
The Indians who began with a flourish took the lead off a penalty corner goal scored by Harmanpreet Singh in the opening quarter but Gonzalo Peillat showed his class by converting a short corner goal midway through the second.
A Peillat drag-flick set up a penalty stroke just before half-time allowing the Germans to take the lead. Sukhjeet Singh got the Indians back into the match by scoring off a penalty corner deflection in the third quarter but Marco Miltkau's late strike sealed the deal for the Germans.
The Indians earned a penalty corner as early as the second minute before testing the German defence with a series of deft moves which resulted in a flurry of short corners.
Teo Hinrichs' incredible rush-outs prevented Harmanpreet Singh from finding the back of the net until the Indian captain finally gave his team the lead in the seventh minute.
Gonzalo Peillat who was the architect of Argentina's gold medal win at the 2016 Rio Olympics proved that his drag-flicking prowess continues to be just as lethal in the German camp.
Peillat's thundering drag flick leveled things up for the Germans in the 18th minute before he manufactured a penalty stroke as his flick was stopped on the line via an Indian foot. Christopher Ruhr scored from the spot to turn the tide of the contest just before half-time.
Sukhjeet Singh scored an opportunistic goal off a Harmanpreet Singh penalty corner strike in the 36th minute following which a classic battle ensued. With the match poised on a knife edge, Marco Miltkau's lightning goal in the 54th minute proved to be the winner despite the Indians taking Sreejesh off at the death.
India's 44-year wait for a place in the finals of the men's hockey event at the Olympics continues even as Craig Fulton's team will play Spain for bronze.
India in men's hockey finals at the Olympics - from Amsterdam 1928 to Moscow 1980
Eight-time gold medalists, India have failed to secure a place in the finals of the men's hockey event in Paris 2024.
The Indians first made it to an Olympic men's hockey final at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics before featuring in six successive gold medal matches. After six straight triumphs from 1928 to 1956, India lost to Pakistan in the 1960 final but bounced back to win the gold at the Tokyo Games in 1964.
Following a 16-year wait, India qualified for the Olympics final in Moscow in 1980 but failed to get past the group phase for the next 41 years. After reaching the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, the Indians went down to Belgium before defeating Germany in the bronze-medal game.
At Paris 2024, the Indians will take on Spain in the bronze-medal game on August 8. In the first men's hockey semifinal, the Netherlands got the better of Spain 4-0 to cement their place in the gold-medal match.
