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The 44-year-long wait for the Indian men’s hockey team for a gold medal at the Olympic Games was extended after India suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Germany in the semi-final at Paris Olympics 2024. The Harmanpreet Singh-led team, who entered the semi-final after beating Great Britain in a penalty shoot-out 4-2, put up a strong performance but lost by a margin.
However, this came as a shocking defeat not only for the team but even for the billions of Indians who watched them play in a closely contested semi-final. While Harmanpreet Singh scored in the seventh minute to give India an early lead in the game, Gonzalo Peillat’s 18th minute goal levelled the scores. However, the Germans dominated the second quarter with Christopher Ruehr giving a lead to the side with a 27th minute goal. But the India’s did not give away the fight till the last minute with Sukhjeet levelling the scores in the 36th minute.
All things were put to rest after Marco Miltkau’s 54th minute goal gave the Germans a 3-2 lead in the game and Samsher’s last minute attempt failed to hit the back of the net with India suffering a hammering against Germany. Although the game might have ended in the stipulated time, but fans once again lashed out at the poor refereeing, which saw India’s challenges being overturned.
Post India’s defeat, several fans took to social media to express their frustration and question the poor refereeing. Some even accused officials of being biased against the Indian team, who happens to be the most successful team in men’s hockey in Olympics with eight gold medals.
Check out how fans reacted over poor refereeing during IND vs GER semi-final clash:
Moreover, the Indian team will take on Spain in the bronze medal match at the Yves du Manoir Stadium in Paris on Thursday, August 8 at 5:30 pm IST.
