Hockey: India set to make semi-final appearance at the Olympics after 17,861 days
The Indian team last made it to the semis in 1972
The Indian men's hockey team have ensured a semifinal berth after registering a 3-1 win over Great Britain in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics quarter-final at the Oi Hockey Stadium on Sunday.
The Men in blue got off to a flying start in the match as Dilpreet Singh (7') broke the deadlock within 10 minutes. Gurjant Singh (16') extended the lead at the beginning of the second quarter while Hardik Singh (57') netted a stunner to ensure a comfortable win over Great Britain.
After this win, India will play against Belgium in the semifinal on Tuesday for a berth in the Olympic finals.
The Indian hockey team last made a semifinal appearance on September 8, 1972 against Pakistan. On Tuesday, when they will be facing Belgium in the semifinals, it will come after 17,861 days or 48 years, 10 months, 26 days.
In 1972, India were placed in Pool B and out of eight teams they finished on top to progress to the knockouts. They took on the second-placed team from Pool A which happened to be Pakistan in the semifinals. However, they suffered a heart-breaking 2-0 loss.
The team went on to face Netherlands in the bronze medal match and they won 2-1, courtesy of goals from Billimoga Govinda and Mukhbain Singh.
Although in 1980, India went on to play the final and win a gold medal, the competition did not have a semifinal.
Why did India not play in the semifinal in 1980?
Although India won gold in 1980, there was no semifinal in that edition. In that edition of the Olympics, there were six teams who participated in the final round. The top two teams contested the gold medal match, whereas the third and fourth placed teams went up against each other for the bronze medal.
India finished second in the round robin stage and faced Spain in the finals on July 29, 1980 at the Central Dynamo Stadium in Moscow. Surinder Singh Sodhi scored a brace, while Krishan Kaushik and Mohammed Shahid also netted in a 4-3 win over the Spaniards. That was the last medal in the Olympics for India in hockey.