New Delhi: India men’s hockey team on Sunday reached the semi-final of the Olympics for the first time in 41 years as the team defeated Great Britain 3-1 to reach the semi-finals of the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.

This is the first time since 1980, India will finish in the last 4 and will play an Olympics semifinal for the first time since 1972.

Coming back to the game, India suffered a blow when skipper Manpreet Singh received a yellow card in the dying minutes, but Hardik scored in the 57th minute to extend India’s lead.

Dilpreet Singh got India off the mark early as he netted a goal in the seventh minute of the match. Simranjeet stole the possession and passed through England’s defenders to Dilpreet who gave India the lead. Gurjant Singh doubled the lead as he scored right at the start of the second quarter. India maintained the lead and went to the second half of the game with a score of 2-0.

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In the third quarter, Sam Ward gave Great Britain something to play for as he netted a goal in the dying minutes of the essay. Great Britain won three back-to-back penalty corners and finally converted the last one into the goal.

Despite the goal, India went into the fourth and final quarter with a lead of 2-1 with a thrilling essay on cards for both sides. In the final quarter, Great Britain tried hard to score a goal after breaching the Indian defence. The side even won a penalty corner but PR Sreejesh made a fine save to keep India on top.

Hardik scored in the closing stages as India defeated Great Britain 3-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics. The team will face Belgium in the semis.