In considered one of its worst performances in current instances, the Indian males’s hockey staff suffered an embarrassing 0-7 drubbing by the hands of defending champions Australia to accept a silver medal on the Commonwealth Games right here on Monday.
Australia blew away India with their whirlwind velocity and relentless assaults, extending their dominance of the CWG stage. Since hockey’s introduction on the Games in 1998, Australia has at all times stood on prime of the rostrum.
The @kookaburras have accomplished it for the seventh time
They are your #B2022 males’s hockey champions!#CommonwealthGames , @CommGamesAUS pic.twitter.com/4LjqYXkRUa
— Commonwealth Sport (@thecgf) August 8, 2022
This is India’s third defeat in opposition to Australia in a CWG ultimate, having misplaced to them within the 2010 and the 2014 editions of the Games.
Nathan Ephraums and Tom Wickham scored a brace every whereas Blake Govers, Jacob Anderson, and Flynn Ogilvie additionally discovered the web within the lop-sided contest.
It was a far cry from what was anticipated in a gold medal conflict as a dominant Australia pumped in 5 objectives within the first half to take the sport away from India.
The different time India suffered such a heavy defeat in CWG was in 2010 version in New Delhi, the place Australia hammered the hosts 8-0.
The Indians seemed rusty and clueless as they conceded an excessive amount of house to the Australians within the mid-field, which allowed the Kookaburras to make inroads.
The construction which the Indians are recognized for was nowhere to be seen. The protection seemed shaky, whereas there was no coordination between the midfield and forward-line.The previous drawback of miss-passing and trapping returned to hang-out the Indians. It allowed Australia to play free-flowing hockey.
Added yet another Silver medal to the gathering.
Congratulations to the Indian Men’s Hockey Team on their Silver medal on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games!#IndiaKaGame #HockeyIndia #B2022 #birmingham2022 @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/SVXJCLJIku
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 8, 2022
The Indians made only a few circle penetrations and every time they did, they lacked the ultimate cross or seemed out of kinds. Such was India’s wrestle that the staff couldn’t safe a single penalty nook. Australia secured their three penalty nook inside the primary 10 minutes and broke the impasse from the third via Govers, whose flick went in between India custodian PR Sreejesh’s legs.
A minute earlier than the primary quarter, Ephramus scored from a counter-attack from the best flank.It was raining objectives for Australia with Anderson making it 3-0 within the twenty second minute, scoring on a rebound, tapping in from shut vary after Sreejesh made the preliminary save.
India’s solely shot on the purpose got here within the twenty fourth minute however Akashdeep Singh’s reverse hit was saved by Australian goalie Andrew Charter.
Australia added two extra objectives to their tally in a span of two minutes earlier than halftime via Wickham (twenty sixth), who deflected in Tim Brand’s cross, and Anderson (twenty seventh) to take full management of the match at half-time.
An harm to Manpreet Singh after a collision with an Australian participant within the second quarter made life tougher for the Indians because the skipper did not take the sphere within the final two quarters. In the forty second minute, Ephramus scored his second purpose with a neat deflection earlier than Ogilvie added one other 4 minutes later.
Six minutes later, Australia scored one other however the purpose was disallowed for backstick after India went for the referral.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
