Tuesday will witness a do-or-die encounter for the Indian men's hockey team, as they take on Belgium in the semi-finals of the Men's event.
Follow Us
Tuesday will witness a do-or-die encounter for the Indian men’s hockey team, as they take on Belgium in the semi-finals of the Men’s event in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. The clash will begin at 7 AM IST. Belgium are the silver-medallists from Rio Olympics and are the reigning World Champions. They have enjoyed an edge over India in the recent past. Having said that, the Men in Blue have looked a lot more solid in such crucial encounters since Graham Reid took over.
“The men’s team holds the ability to emulate the heroics in Moscow by winning a gold medal, having delivered some fine performances so far. However, they will have to be wary against Belgium having failed to defeat the European Giants in encounters over the last nine years. However, what cannot be denied is the fact that Indian hockey is showing signs of redemption,” believes Sudipta Biswas, author of the book: ‘Mission Gold: India’s Quest for Olympic Glory’.
The Indian men’s hockey team reached the semi-finals in an edition of the Olympics after 49 years, following a 3-1 triumph against Great Britain in the last-eight stage. Former Captain of the Indian Hockey Team Viren Rasquinha termed reaching the semi-final as the “greatest moment for Indian Hockey since the 1980 Gold Medal at Moscow.”
“Greatest moment for Indian Hockey since the 1980 Gold medal at the Moscow Olympics. I am just so proud of the team. Congrats boys. I have tears of joy in my eyes. Thank you for what you guys are doing at Tokyo,” his reaction read. The Indian fans will be optimistic of the national men’s team reaching the final, in a contest that is expected to be a thriller.
The day’s action will begin with Annu Rai battling it out in the Women’s Javelin Throw Qualification- Group A event of Athletics. The same will be followed by the semi-final in men’s hockey, with a good performance capable of making the day an exceedingly pleasant one for the Indian fans.
The next event of the day will see Sonam Mallik, gold medalist at the National Games and Cadet World Wrestling Championships battling it out in her opening bout against Mongolia’s Bolortuya Khurelkhuu in the women’s 62kg category. Sonam is the youngest-ever Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics at the age of 19. A triumph against Bolortuya will see her qualify for the quarterfinals. A triumph at that level will see Sonam battle it out in the semi-final, with the event set to start at 2.45 PM IST.
The final event of the day will see Tajinderpal Singh Toor kicking off his campaign in the Men’s Shot Put Qualification.
Tuesday’s Olympic schedule for India: All times are in India Standard Time (IST)
05:50 AM IST Athletics: Women’s Javelin Throw Qualification – Group A: Annu Rani
07:00 AM IST Hockey: Men’s Semi-Final India Vs Belgium
08:30 AM IST Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 62Kg ONWARDS 1/8 Final and QF: Sonam Malik
02:45 PM IST Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 62Kg ONWARDS Semi-Final: Sonam Malik (Subject to Qualification)
03:45 PM IST Athletics: Men’s Shot Put Qualification – Group A (Tajinderpal Singh Toor)
