PARIS:India face world champions Germany in a mouth-watering Paris Olympics 2024 men’s hockey semi-finals on Tuesday. In the final week of the Summer Games, India are still four short of their record seven medals at Tokyo Olympics. So far, it’s been a bit of a heartbreak with at least five Indians, including shuttler Lakshya Sen on Monday, missing a bronze medal.
Even as India clinched a never-before three medals, all bronze, from the shooting range at Chateauroux, a medal in hockey is always special. A win against Germany will set up India for the gold medal, last won at the 1980 Moscow Games. A loss will put India in line for the bronze medal play-off. Spain and The Netherlands will contest the other semi-final.
There will be several medal contenders in action this week. Tokyo Olympics javelin champion Neeraj Chopra will start his campaign on Tuesday. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, there will be two Indians in the javelin competition. Kishore Jena qualified on merit and he won a silver behind Chopra at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The javelin finals are on August 8.
Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Mirabai Chanu is once again a hot prospect for a weightlifting medal, if she is fit. The Manipuri has been out of competition after suffering a hip injury at the Asian Games last year. After five months of rehab and training, Mirabai remains one of the top weightlifters in the world. Mirabai’s event is on August 7, a day before her 30th birthday.
Vinesh Phogat will be on a mission after her lacklustre finish at Tokyo 2020. The former world champion wrestler showed the rebellious side of herself during the protest against the former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhusan Sharan Singh, the heavyweight Member of Parliament from Kaiserganj, Uttar Pradesh.
Several Olympians, including Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, had raised allegations of sexual molestation against Brij Bhusan in January and then again in April this year. Phogat was also at the forefront of it all.
While Bajrang failed to qualify for Paris 2024 for poor form, Phogat, a multiple world championship medallist, is looking strong and ambitious in her (50kg) weight category. Like Chopra, she also starts on Tuesday. Paris 2024 will be her third Olympics.
India must win a gold medal to improve their standing at the Paris Olympics. India are currently 59th and a gold medal will take India to 36th position, shared by 20 nations having won at least one gold medal.
But all focus will be on the India vs Germany hockey match at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium on Tuesday evening. India will have happy memories of beating the Germans 5-4 for the historic bronze at Tokyo 2020. But it will be another day for the teams and history will have no impact.
After scoring a gallant win against Great Britain with just 10 men on Sunday, India will once again look ahead to a perfect team game. India will be without top defender Amit Rohidas, out with a red card suspension. Butthen there is PR Sreejesh, who continues to do incredible things at goal. A hockey medal will be the perfect gift for the legend who will retire at the end of his fourth Olympics.