Australia defeat India 3-1 on penalties, Hockey Final Live Score Updates at FIH Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 Final Match

Good night for now!

But the bigger question is: Has India been robbed off a medal? We’ll get back to this tomorrow.

Official confirmation from Hockey India is here:

The confusion is finally over as Australia has been announced as the winners of the 2016 edition of the prestigious 36th FIH Men's Champions Trophy at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre.

There is a possibility of FIH announcing the winner of the final tomorrow. Can't even believe this is happening.

30 more minutes till the official decision is out!

Just In: The officials are still reviewing the official protest by India. The fans have been asked to leave the stadium.

So, this is what happened. Daniel Beale was stopped by our custodian Sreejesh as he failed to convert it. Australia appealed and a retake was awarded on the grounds of a foul committed by the Keralite.

WE STILL DON’T HAVE A WINNER.

Roeland Oltmans is absolutely furious and he has enough reasons to be.

There has been a major confusion regarding Beale’s second shot. Hockey India has taken up the matters to the officials and we are awaiting a final confirmation.

India win silver in the Champions Trophy for the first time in 38 years!

India settles for silver as Australia beat India 3-1 (0-0) in penalty shootout to win this competition for the 14th time.

Australia’s goalie Tyler Lovell is the man of the moment and Australia clinch the 36th Men’s Champions Trophy! AUSTRALIA 3-1 INDIA

Simon Orchard makes it 3-1 for Australia. Surendar Kumar fails to score in the fourth attempt. IT’S OVER!

Australia leading 2-1

Harmanpreet sneaks one in. PERFECT! India reduce the margin.

Sreejesh saves the third shot from Australia.

Australia 2-0 India

SV Sunil takes the second shot and misses it. The vice-captain simply misses it.

It’s a retake. And finishes this time. Australia 2-0 up.

Daniel Beale to take the second shot and Sreejesh saves it. Australia goes for the referral.

Australia 1-0 India!

Missed it. Hits on the bar.

SK Uthappa will be taking India’s first shot.

Alen Zalewski to take the first shot. SCORES! Australia up by 1 goal.

This team is on the verge of etching our names in the history of Indian hockey!

Will PR Sreejesh will be the savior of India today?

India 0-0 Australia. IT’S TIME FOR A PENALTY SHOOTOUT.

END OF 60 MINUTES, END OF REGULATION TIME.

Is this going to a nail-biting penalty shootout or can India sneak a shot into the goal?

Two minutes left on the clock.

57’ – Another stick check but this time from India. Nikkin Thimmaiah gets a yellow. How crucial can that be? Both sides down to 10 players.

56’ – India’s Nikkin Thimmaiah attempts a circle penetration, and Australia are penalized for a stick check.

55’ – Full marks to Indian defense today. No goals in this match so far. India 0-0 Australia.

54’ – Six minutes of play remaining and Australia have a successful referral. It’s another PC for Australia.

53’ – The commitment of Indian players has been top-class today. 79% of the possession in favor of the Men in Blue. Tells us the whole story, eh?

Can India script a historic win against the World Number One? We are 8 minutes away from the final whistle.

IT’S A YELLOW! Dawson won’t be a part of the game for the next 10 minutes.

51’ – SV Sunil with his electrifying pace was almost on the verge of taking the ball away from Australian midfield. Nasty tackle from Dawson! And he is going to get a card.

49’ – India completely dominating possession. Running to the baseline and hovering around the D. What a performance it has been. FLAWLESS!

47’ – Another attack by Akashdeep Singh but Australian goalie made a timely interception.

Final 15 minutes of regulation time.

Not long ago, Hockey India finished the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia in second behind Australia. The Kookaburras dominated the tournament, going undefeated to take their ninth Sultan Azlan Shah title.

End of Q3! India have been on the attack in this game. Leading possession by a significant margin, they’ve already had a number of circle penetrations so far.

LIVE SCORE – India 0:0 Australia.

44’ – What an impressive performance from this team. Rest assured, they have won millions of hearts with this determination

42’ – Three minutes left on the clock. Australia gets another CARD! Trent Mitton picks up a yellow. Down to 9 men.

41’ – Uthappa hits it. Harmanpreet fails to capitalize on his chance. Australia tries to counter attack and Ogilve gets a GREEN CARD for shouting at the umpire.

Not a well-taken PC from Uthappa. But then, we have another chance now!

40' – Penalty corner for India after Mandeep’s hot touches the foot of Australian defence.

It’s a CARD for Matthew Swann. Can India take the advantage now?

37’ – Counter attack from India. What a coordination from Mandeep and Chingalsena. Could have been the first goal of the match.

36’ – Australia have been unable to capitalize on the penalty corner; the scores remain at 0-0 with 10 minutes to go in the third quarter.

35’ - Ninth penalty corner for Australia and SAVED yet again.

34’ – Still no signs of a goal. Nikkin Thimmaiah moving from the right flank but gets obstructed by Dawson.

32’ – Defence has been strong for Australia this tournament. P Sreejesh and vice-captain Sunil have been instrumental in this tournament. The story is no different today.

Third quarter now underway, and India are still pushing possession. Can we break the deadlock?

Gritty display from the Indian defence so far, but we need to push more for penalty corners. With ace drag-flickers Raghunath and Harmandeep in our ranks – that’s our strength. Let’s see if the scoreline changes in the next 15 minutes.

56% possession by India in the first half. We’ve got a game in our hands.

It has been a pretty decent showing by all the 11 players on the pitch.

Great character shown by Sreejesh and his team. If we can keep up this commitment, we are 30 minutes away from history.

So, India 0-0 Australia at the end of the first 30 minutes.

That’s it. END OF Q2.

One minute left in this quarter. Can India take a crucial lead in the game?

29’ – It seems like India have enjoyed more possession than Australia in the last few minutes. SK Uthappa has been the key today. Can be seen running all around.

And it’s White who deflects the ball with his stick, this time.

India has a PENALTY CORNER after Christian White touches the ball with his foot. Golden Opportunity for India.

28' - Australia have a chance but Harmanpreet defends brilliantly. Moves to the ball in the other half.

Good start from India. Three minutes remaining in the final of the 36th edition of this competition.

26’ – Pardeep and Beale both get a green card. Two teams down to 10 men for the next two minutes.

Still no goal. Scores: India 0-0 Australia

25’ – India looking to counter attack. But Akashdeep Singh misses the opportunity. Not a good pass from him. We are 4 minutes away from the end of the first half.

24’ – Another PC for Aus, another save by Sreejesh

23’ – That’s a classic save from Raghunath. Coming from behind and using his stick to hit the ball away from danger zone.

22’ – India are tackling and moving around. So far, so safe by India.

And so on. Story of Sreejesh so far in this tournament. What an asset to our team, he is.

20’ – Can India take the lead in this half? The ball has not been in the Australian half much in this quarter.

Yes. It is.

Score Update: India 0-0 Australia

19’ – And HE MISSES IT. Sreejesh, the saviour again. Saves a penalty stroke and Australia miss the chance to take the lead yet again.

Australia have a great chance to go 1-0 up now.

18’ – Zalewski gets a penalty corner and Surinder Kumar concedes a PENALTY STROKE!

16’ – We are ready with the second quarter and it’s an attack straightaway from India. SV Sunil has been positioning himself really well so far.

Good start it has been from Roelant Oltmans’ side.

END OF Q1. India are competing against Australia for a shot at gold. They have nothing to lose. And that is evident from their attitude.

14’ – Scores till tied at 0-0.

Two minutes left in this first quarter. India has been quite impressive so far.

MISSES IT!

13’ – Nikkin Thimmaiah gets the first penalty corner of India. Let's see if India can score from here. Harmanpreet hits it on the foot of Orchard Simon. Second penalty corner of India.

It hits on the foot of SV Uthappa. Fourth penalty corner for Australia as Matt Dawson and Blakes Govers fail to convert. SREEJESH THE WALL OF INDIAN HOCKEY! To the rescue yet again.

10’ – Sreejesh saves it and another penalty corner for India. It’s a re-take again for Australia. Australia have failed to score from three chances.

Gets deflected and Australia gets a second chance.

9’ – FIRST PENALTY CORNER of the game for Australia. Hits Raghunath on the foot and Australia have to chance to make it 1-0.

Here's how the teams have lined up:

8’ – Seven minutes left on Q1. It has been a cautious start from both teams till now.

6’ – First attack of the game for India. Chingalsena’s shot get deflected by the foot of Matt Dawson.

Score still stands at 0-0.

4’ – There has no major attacks in the game till now.

3’ – India would not want a repeat of last night’s performance. Raghunath will be the key in Indian defence again.

2’ – With Sardar Singh taking a break, it’s good to see the Indian midfield take responsibilities.

1’ – India has the ball. A cautious start from the Indian midfield. Passing the ball around them.

And the game is on.

Manpreet Singh will be captaining the side. But Sreejesh is still there in the side. Quite a bold move from Roelant Oltmans.

The crowd is ready for the final game of the tournament. And so are we.

The players are out on the field. Time for the national anthem!

Here’s one bitter stat between India and Australia:

Contrary to India’s record in the tournament, Australia have won 13 times, finished runners-up 10 times, and won bronze 4 times.

Only medal India boasts of is the bronze medal from the 1982 edition.

India might be playing quality hockey in build-up to this game so far by holding Olympic champion Germany to a 3-3 draw and defeating World Number 4 Great Britain. But the tournament’s history is something that the hockey fans won’t be proud of.

Can India can fetch the coveted gold medal which has eluded them since the inception of the tournament in 1978?

It is time to witness the engrossing India-Australia rivalry as they get set for the marquee clash at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre in London.

Welcome to the final of the 36th Men’s Champions Trophy!

The hockey-loving fans of India will be glued to the television to support India as they clash against World Number 1 Australia in the all-important final of the prestigious 36th FIH Men's Champions Trophy at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre.

Disappointed with the defeat against Australia in the group stage encounter earlier in the tournament, India would be determined for an improved show.

Talking about the form of the two teams in the Champions Trophy, Australia have been unbeaten in this tournament with 13 points from 5 games. India started off with an impressive draw against reigning Olympic champion Germany followed by victories against Great Britain and Korea.

Defeats against Belgium and Australia did not hurt us much as India finished the pool as the second-best team. Roelant Oltman’s would be indebted to Great Britain who rallied from two goals down to draw against Belgium 3-3 in a nail-biting encounter.

Also Read: FIH Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 2016: India to play gold-medal match for the first time in 38 years

India qualified for the final of the Champions Trophy after a gap of 38 years. The last time we finished on the podium in the showpiece event of the International Hockey Federation was way back in 1982 when Zafar Iqbal inspired India to a bronze at Amsterdam.

Also Read: Blast from the Past: When Hockey India beat Pakistan to clinch its only Champions Trophy medal in 1982

Continuing their recent practice of resting players for Rio Olympics 2016, India have rested captain Sardar Singh, drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh, and striker Ramandeep Singh. In the absence of Sardar Singh, seasoned goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is leading the side.

Australia, on the other hand, have a number of young players in the squad who are eager to showcase their talent. The Indian defence must watch out for Trent Mitton and Aran Zalewski who were particularly good against the Indian defence.

The question is – Can India win their first ever Champions Trophy?

Let's hope for the best.

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Edited by Staff Editor