India lost 3-2 to Germany in the semi-finals of the hockey tournament and missed out on the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics

India missed a golden opportunity to reach its first Olympic hockey final in 44 years as it lost 3-2 to Germany in the semifinal of the Paris Olympics on Tuesday. India started well and dominated the early stages of the match but Germany rallied. It was a golden opportunity for India to reach its first Olympic final since the 1980 Olympics but Germany crushed their hopes with a decisive goal in the fourth and final quarter.

Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh (7th) and Sukerjit Singh (36th) scored, while Germany’s scorers were Gonzalo Perat (18th), Christoph Rühr (27th) and Marco Mirco (54th).

India will face Spain in the bronze medal match while Germany will face the Netherlands in the final.

India took the initiative and put a lot of pressure on the German defence in the first quarter and in the process scored the first goal of the match through Harmanpreet.

But the German team, known for its strong will, fought back strongly in the second quarter, equalizing the score through Perat’s penalty kick, and then took the lead through Ruhr’s penalty kick conversion.

India ensured two goals in the 36th minute from a corner kick, with Harmanpreet’s flick being cleverly parried away by Sukhjeet.

In the fourth and final quarter, Germany launched a fierce attack and with just six minutes left to the final whistle, Mirko’s cross scored the winning goal, breaking the hearts of the Indian team.

The Indians had as many as 11 penalty kicks in the game but only converted one.

Germany was awarded just four penalties.

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