Forty-five years ago, the Indian men’s hockey team had suffered its worst loss at the Olympics. Less than a year after winning the 1975 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, the team hit its nadir when they were beaten 1-6 in the group stages of Montreal 1976 by Australia, who went on to claim silver.
But the team had a compelling reason they could offer to explain the heavy defeat—Olympic hockey was being played on artificial turf for the first time. Masters of the sport on grass, the team could not adjust to the new, fast-paced surface.
The batch of 2021 don’t really have an excuse for the morale-shattering 1-7 hammering they got at the hands of Australia in Tokyo’s Oi Hockey Stadium.
Graham Reid’s side had no response for the salvo of goals Australia, a team India had beaten via penalties in the Pro League last year, fired throughout the 60 minutes.
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The contest was reminiscent of the 2010 Commonwealth Games final here when the same opponent had thrashed India 8-0 in the final, silencing the capacity crowd at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
Despite penetrating Australia’s circle 24 times, two more than Australia managed, India failed to convert their chances. Only Dilpreet Singh (34th minute) managed to breach Australia’s watertight defence. The Manpreet Singh-led side wasted all five penalty corner opportunities with poor trapping and execution.
The world No.1 outfit are top of Group A with six points from two games after a shaky 5-3 win over Japan on Saturday.
Australia, who have medalled in six of the last seven Olympics, ripped apart India’s defence with PR Sreejesh helpless in goal.
It’s still early days in the tournament with India fourth in the group of six, after their win over New Zealand on Saturday, with the top four making the quarter-finals. India are scheduled to play Spain (July 27), Argentina (July 29) and hosts Japan (July 30) next.
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