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The Indian men's hockey team will end the preliminary stage of their Paris Olympics 2024 campaign against Australia on Friday (August 2). The result will decide where they finish in the Pool B.
Regardless of what transpires on Friday, India will not top the points table. Craig Fulton's side may also need to await the result of a late-evening Pool A game between Germany and Great Britain to know who they will be facing in Sunday's quarterfinal.
The Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, and Spain have all qualified for the quarterfinals but the final placings will depend on the results of Friday's games.
The Indians, who were beaten by Australia by a mammoth 7-1 margin in the pool stages of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will be wary of their opponents who thrashed New Zealand 5-0 on Thursday.
Blake Govers, whose drag-flick struck the post during a 2-6 defeat to Belgium, scored a hat-trick against the Black Sticks to power his team into the quarterfinals of the men's hockey event in Paris.
Colin Batch's team beat India 7-0 in the finals of the 2022 Commonwealth Games and will begin as the overwhelming favorites despite a few close games in the recent FIH Hockey Pro League.
India last beat Australia by a 5-4 margin in the 2022-23 edition of the FIH Pro League in Rourkela last year.
The Australians appeared to struggle with their penalty corners in their opening matches in Paris but Govers converted a couple against New Zealand and appears to have found his touch just before the knockouts.
Match Details: India vs Australia, Pool Match, Paris Olympics 2024
Date & Time: Friday, August 2, 2024, 4:45 PM IST
Venue: Paris, France
India vs Australia: Head-to-head (Last 5)
Matches Played: 5 (Australia tour, April 2024, Perth)
India - 0
Australia - 5
Draws: 0
Overall Head-to-Head:
Total Matches: 144
India - 24
Australia - 97
Draws - 23
India vs Australia: Full Squads
India
Goalkeeper: Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Roidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay
Midfielders: Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad
Forwards: Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh
Australia
Goalkeeper: Andrew Charter
Defenders: Corey Weyer, Jake Harvie, Matthew Dawson, Joshua Beltz, Eddie Ockenden, Jeremy Hayward
Midfielders: Lachlan Sharp, Jake Whetton, Aran Zalewski, Ky Willott, Flynn Ogilvie
Forwards: Thomas Craig, Tom Wickham, Blake Govers, Tim Brand
India vs Australia: Prediction
Expect a high-scoring game, with both sides going on the offense early. The Indians cannot rely on their ability to reduce deficits in the final quarter against a team of the caliber of Australia and will need to score early to be able to make a match out of their final pool game
Score Prediction: India 3 - Australia 3
Where to watch Paris Olympics 2024 hockey matches in India?
Hockey matches at the Paris Olympics 2024 will be telecast in India on Sports 18 channels and streamed live on Jio Cinema.
