The Indian Men’s team has qualified for the last eight of the hockey tournament in Rio Olympics 2016, following a high-voltage draw between fellow Pool B nations Argentina and Germany on Thursday. Soon after the Men in Blue went 1-2 down to the Netherlands in a cliffhanger of a contest, the defending champions found themselves held by the South American side to a 4-4 tie at the Olympic Hockey Center in Deodoro, thereby confirming India’s quarter-final berth.
Making this achievement all the more special is the long wait of 36 years since India last crossed the group stages in the Moscow Summer Games of 1980 which, incidentally, had fetched the 8th Olympic Gold for the country. From an Indian perspective, the past few editions of the Olympics have been far from satisfactory, with the failure to qualify for Beijing 2008 for the first time ever being the lowest point in their Olympic history.
Following the 2008 disaster, India’s return to the Olympic stage in London 2012 turned out to be equally forgettable as they finished 12th i.e. the last position among all the teams participating in the tournament.
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Ahead of Rio 2016, the format of the hockey event at the Games was altered after a lot of criticism regarding its asymmetry over the years. Instead of direct semi-finals between the top two nations in each group at the end of the pool fixtures, the quarter-final hurdle was included which allowed the four best sides to progress for the eliminators.
India, currently 3rd with 6 points from their first four matches in Rio, trail Netherlands and Germany, both of whom have 10 points from three wins and one draw each. 4th placed Argentina have 5 points ahead of their last group game against underdogs Ireland. Although the odds are in favour of the Argentinians, with a shock upset in their 5th match, the Irish team can still make it through to the next round. With four defeats out of their four fixtures, Canada are already out of contention in the Rio Olympics 2016.
However, spoiling India’s party could be the burning possibility of facing World No. 1 Australia in the quarter-final rounds. The equations heavily favour an India-Australia match-up since the Kookaburras take on Brazil in their final group match whom they’re expected to defeat with considerable ease. That would take them to 2nd place in Group A, who’re pitted against the 3rd place finishers of Group B. With the top two ranks out of sight for them, unless the Men in Blue go down to a weaker Canadian outfit on Friday, it will be a repeat of the FIH Champions’ Trophy finale from June in the quarter-finals of the hockey tournament in Rio 2016.
