Go down in sudden death & need win vs Japan today to book Olympic berth
RANCHI: Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium was surrounded by fog and the visibility was low. It was also cold and drizzling. It wasn't exactly the condition that the Indian women's team is used to playing but what a game they played against Germany here on Thursday.
Despite their best efforts though against the world No. 5 team, where Savita once again put up a world-class performance and the team, after conceding a late goal, equalised to make it 2-2, they lost 3-4 after the sudden death in the penalty shootout.
The win helped Germany qualify for Paris Olympics while India will have to take on Japan, who went down to the US in the first semifinal, in the third-fourth playoff match for a chance to book their spot in their third successive Games.
India took the lead in the 15th minute when Deepika converted a penalty corner in the presence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a packed stadium.
However, Charlotte Stapenhorst scored twice - first in the 27th minute and then in the 57th - to put Germany in the lead. With just three minutes left, it seemed all over but with less than two minutes left in regulation time, India won another PC, and this time Ishika Chaudhary scored after the initial shot by Neha was blocked by the German goalkeeper.
It was an incredible effort by the hosts to make a comeback with just a minute left on the clock and take it to the shootouts.
And just like the match sixty minutes earlier, India made a brilliant start to the shootouts with Savita keeping out Linnea Weidemann's shot and Sangita Kumari converting hers. The captain saved Anne Schröder's shot, too, but Germany scored three and it was tied at 3-3 after five shots each as Navneet Kaur and Neha failed to score for India.
Then as sudden death started, it began to go downhill as Sangita missed. Savita gave the hosts a ray of hope after she denied Sonja Zimmermann. But India failed to take advantage of it as Sonika failed to score and Lisa Nolte sounded the board with a no-look cheeky shot.
It was enough to silence the entire stadium as the Germans celebrated wildly.
India coach Janneke Schopman, however, had only positive things to say about the team. "You concede a goal against Germany three minutes before the game and everyone thinks it's game over but this is India for you. We keep fighting and we did it today. We kept fighting and we scored the equaliser and rightfully so," said Schopman after the match.
They all did put up a fight and played a good game but just came up short in the end. They didn't allow the Germans to play their natural game and kept pressing hard. Sangita and Deepika were especially brilliant upfront keeping the German defenders always on their toes.
Their hard work finally paid off when they won their first PC towards the end of the first quarter and Deepika scored from it. The youngster had not scored from a PC in the tournament before this but she was brimming with confidence this time and powered the ball through the legs of the German goalkeeper Julia Sonntag.
It was the perfect start that the Indians could have dreamt of but in the end, it all went in vain and they will have to do it all over again against Japan on Friday. They have beaten them thrice recently - twice in the Asian Champions Trophy and once in the Asian Games - but it will be a whole different ball game with a spot at the Olympics on offer.
Speaking about the encounter, Japan coach Jude Menezes said, "We have nothing to lose and we have no pressure on us. The pressure of expectations will be on India. So, we will have a crack at India and then see what we can do."
Hopefully, India will be able to absorb all that pressure and come out victorious at the end of the day.
