The Indian men's hockey team suffered its worst defeat at the Olympics on Sunday, losing 7-1 to Australia in their second Pool A match. Here is the chronicle of Debayan Sen's match.
3:07 PM is the seventh minute. So far in this match, the two heavyweight boxers have felt like going round the ring to outsmart each other. I am just thinking back how skilled the India defender looked in their opening day win against New Zealand, when Rupinder Pal Singh hits a beautifully disguised ball close to the center line, which finds young Shamsher Singh. Shamsher freezes, perhaps not expecting the ball to pass through the Australian defence, and spins to try to squeeze a reverse-stick whip, but makes terrible contact with it.
Coach Graham Reid has roped in a very young and inexperienced forwardline, and perhaps a missed opportunity like this is something Shamsher needs to learn on the job.
3:10 pm India's first penalty corner (PC) sees the target dismissed, as Harmanpreet Singh fails to take the first shot, and then ends up pulling his reverse-hit too high, even as it hits the net. Hit the ceiling. Minutes later, Australia gets their first PC, and even though the first shot is saved by first sprinter Amit Rohidas, the team in the yellow crowd hits the Indian half and when a loose ball hits a player, it throws it. Sreejesh hits hard and at an angle.
Fine. Certainly a 1-0 mountain between such good teams is not too high.
3:33 PM Before half-time, Australia have converted it into a no-contest. India have played their part in this as well, with soft turnovers, poor stops from short corners, and indifferent decision-making inside the opposition circle, where they actually match Australia for most of the game, but rarely with the ball. do enough.
Top-ranked team Australia has shown full power of the goal during this period. Drag flick, a strong forehand on the run, and a reverse-hit that leaves Sreejesh no chance. That last shot is also called a tomahawk, a term coined in Australia, and Joshua Beltz's goal is a perfect example of why.
3:54 PM Young Dilpreet takes some revenge on the Aussies. Just before the end of the second quarter, Eddie Ockenden deliberately runs into clear view of the umpire standing behind the young Indian, and this gives Dilpreet the green card. He comes in and gives a slap in the trap.
4:10 PM With the third quarter any hope of a fight still over, as Australia earned a penalty stroke. It's a minor call with the ball off Surendra Kumar with the dive behind Sreejesh, but the video umpire believes there is no surefire way to confirm that Sreejesh would have saved it, in which case it is Australia would have been PC.
4:23 p.m. Australia placed seventh. Sreejesh comes out to deny Tim Brand, as a careless India is unlocked by a spectacular lofted pass from inside Australia's territory, but Brand sees him coming. He checks his run, points to the left and then flicks the ball past Birender Lakra. Sreejesh takes a moment inside the net to catch his breath. This sucker punch has summed up a true Sunday in games for India.
4:30 pm. This is India's first match on the northern pitch, which may explain the PC's ups and downs. Convert even a couple too early, and India are ahead and setting the tone for the game.
India still have Spain, Argentina and Japan to play for. All rank lower than India, but each of these could be a handful when fully switched on. Only the top four make it into the quarter, so theoretically Tuesday's win against Spain would set up India beautifully to move on. Also the good news is that this game takes him back to the pitch in the south, where his PC conversion against New Zealand was almost flawless.
However, young players have to take on more responsibility in midfield and attack. Opportunities will have to turn at this stage, and Reid will remind them ahead of Spain.
Hockey players are luckier than many athletes in these sports, as a day off for them forces them out of competition on the same day. India should learn that lesson and remove all errors from their game.
And for the rest, there are always the wise words of Olympian Viren Rasquinha, ending with the most appropriate emoji for this Sunday.