JOIN USA win in the opening match of the Olympics after a hiatus of 12 years, notwithstanding, Indian men’s hockey team will have to lift their game by a notch if they want to challenge the might of reigning Olympic champions Germany in their second Pool B match on Monday.
India were made to toil hard by minnows Ireland on Saturday to register a fighting 3-2 win, their first in the sporting extravaganza in 12 years.
Going by world rankings, India (5th) were the clear favourites to dominate the match against Ireland (12th). Expectedly, the PR Sreejesh-led side started on a bright note and played to their potential for majority of the match but they handed the initiative to their opponents in the final quarter.
While drag-flickers Rupinder Pal Singh (2 goals) and VR Raghunath (1 goal) were bang on target with penalty corners, the forwardline was not upto the mark, missing plenty of scoring chances.
Sreejesh was alert as usual in front of the goal, making quite a few saves but the defence, their perennial problem, was found wanting when the Irish put relentless pressure in the final quarter, thereby conceding as many as eight penalty corners.
But come Monday, the Indians cannot afford to commit the same mistakes against the Germans, who will be eyeing a hat-trick of Olympic golds having pocketed the yellow metal in the last two Games -- Beijing (2008) and London (2012).
India last won a match against Germany in the Olympics way back in the 1996 Atlanta Games where they registered a 3-0 win in the opening match.