Former India internationals recommend the best way to approach Olympic semifinals against Argentina
Yesterday, the Indian women’s hockey team pulled off the biggest upset of all time, beating World No. 3 Australia by 1-0 in the quarters to progress into the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics.
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The team that finished 12th out of 12 teams in Rio 2016 and played their last competitive match in 2019 had somehow pulled off a miracle. This game wasn’t for the fainthearted and is probably the biggest underdog story of all time.
With India stunning the three-time Olympic champions, all focus now shifts to the semifinals, where India face world No.2 Argentina. Argentina dominated their semifinal against Germany and won 3-0. Their coach Carlos Retegui is one of the most talked-about coaches in the hockey fraternity.
After the quarterfinal win against the Aussies, the proud coach of the women’s team Sjoerd Marijne said:
“Today, I told the girls to just play freely. The pressure is on the other team and that's really important to know. The qfinal matches are really difficult for the teams who are higher ranked. And I wanted the players to be proud of themselves today, regardless of the result.”
We are sure the Dutchman will implement the same spirit within his girls for the semis as well.
Speaking about the pressure on the Argentines, Rio 2016 Olympian Deepika Thakur said:
“All the pressure would be on Argentina. They are a higher ranked team and we have nothing to lose. We have already achieved what nobody ever expected us to. The team has been playing brilliantly and we need to bring up our 'A' game like we did against the Aussies. The defense has been rock solid. We just need to be calm and composed, and everything else will fall in place.”
Previously, in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Deepika had explained how no team should be taken for granted and how rankings hardly matter at the Olympics. The former Olympian’s words came true as India stunned their much higher-ranked opponents.
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This win might have got on the nerves of youngsters as they have just won the biggest match of their entire life. Now, it would be the duty of senior players like Rani Rampal, Vandana Katariya, Deep Grace Ekka and Savita Punia to keep the team calm and composed.
India has to be rock solid in defense
Speaking about India's defense and their goalkeeper, former Olympian and Indian captain AB Subbaiah said:
“Savita has been excellent in the goal. Deep Grace, Gurjit have all been doing well. They should just play the game that they know and not try anything new. It will be D-day for India. They should focus more on the defense as the Argentina forward line is very strong. The rest, we can leave to destiny.”
India’s first female drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur scored for the first time in the quarters. Her stick was silent throughout the tournament.
“Gurjit needs to bring the same energy and power that she got in during the quarters. There is no chance of making mistakes during PC. One thing we need to learn from today’s men’s semis is that we need to stop conceding so many penalty corners. Our defense has been doing well but needs to be more alert inside the circle. Our forwards also need to make more circle penetrations and create pressure on their opponents. The experienced warhorses will have to show their best game tomorrow.”
“This match also proves that dreams can come true. If you start believing and you keep believing and you keep working hard, things can happen. You have to do the work to fulfill your dreams and that's what we did today," said Marijne after the quarterfinal.
A win would confirm India a medal at the Olympics. The Indian hockey fans can just hope for another miracle. This is the moment to capture, not to be complacent. India will face Argentina tomorrow (August 4) at 03:30 PM IST.