The Indian men’s hockey team has ended its eight-year wait. Indian Hockey The team (Hockey India) Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022) has made a place in the finals. Team India, captained by Manpreet Singh, booked their ticket to the final by defeating South Africa 3-2 in the semi-final. In this way, the Indian team has entered the final for the first time since 2014. India will once again face 6-time champions Australia in the final. who defeated hosts England in the second semi-final.
South Africa gave a strong fight
The South African team, ranked much lower than India, shocked everyone by reaching the semi-finals this time. In such a situation, Team India also hoped to get a tough match in this final and that is what happened. The Indian team also had to make many efforts to open their account. While the South African team did not give up till the end despite falling behind every time and continued to try to snatch the victory from India by scoring a goal at the last minute.
Account opening had to wait
India, ranked fifth in the FIH rankings, did not find it easy to reach their third final. The team had to wait 20 minutes for the first goal. Finally in the second quarter, Abhishek opened India’s account. After that, India got one more goal in the same quarter. This time Mandeep doubled India’s lead in the 28th minute. From here it seemed that Team India would dominate the goal completely. But South Africa didn’t let that happen.
In contrast, South Africa thwarted India’s attack through Ryan Julius in the 33rd minute to reduce the lead and add to India’s worries.
clinched the win in the final minutes
In an attempt to finally equalise, South Africa replaced the goalkeeper with an outfielder and suffered. Jugraj Singh converted a penalty corner in the 58th minute to ensure the win. However 1 minute later South Africa scored another goal. But India pulled the match in their favor.
A thrilling win for Australia
In the second semi-final, 6-time champions Australia beat hosts England 3-2. The Australian team was behind for a long time in this match. England stunned everyone by scoring two goals in the first and second quarter to take the lead. The Australian team, champions every time since the introduction of hockey in 1998, was not giving up so easily. He made a great comeback and then scored 3 goals and not only that but also the win. England got 14 penalty corners in the match. But the team could not convert a single goal and had to bear the brunt. Thus England’s dream of reaching the final for the first time was shattered.
Will India win in the third round?
In this way, India and Australia will meet in the final for the third time. Earlier in the 2010 and 2014 Games, Australia had stopped India from winning the title twice in a row. This time the Indian team will be hoping to stop Australia’s chariot by completing both those defeats.
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