Indian men’s hockey team qualify for knockout stage after 36 years
Despite losing their match today against Netherlands, the Indian men’s hockey team have qualified for the quarterfinal after fourth-placed Argentina drew against Germany. India, who are third in the standings, have six points from four games and will face Canada in their last group match.
India lost to Netherlands 1-2 in their fourth group match earlier today, but had earlier defeated Ireland and Argentina, while losing to Germany in the second group match. That defeat was particularly excruciating after the defending champions scored in the last minute of play from a lucky shot. After today’s match, India were third in the group with six points from four games. But they had a chance to qualify if Argentina drew their match against the defending champions in the other match, and that is exactly what panned out - the high-scoring match ended in a draw at 4-4.
With the result, India have qualified for an Olympic quarterfinal after 36 years. The last time they had reached the knockouts was in 1980 when India won its last Olympic hockey Gold.
India will retain their current position in the group at third if they can defeat Canada in the last group match. If the standings in Group A remain the same, then India will face Spain in the quarter-final encounter. Interestingly, India had lost the two friendly games they played against Spain before the tournament in Rio.