Australia enter Champions Trophy final, Germany knocked out

The Indian Hockey team have qualified for the finals of the Champions Trophy for the first time, despite a 2-3 loss to Australia in the league match.

The Indians were in pole position in second spot behind Australia, and although they came up short, Britain and Belgium could only draw 3-3 in their match.

India needed a win or a draw to seal their place in the final of the tournament, where their best-finish is a bronze medal in the 1982 edition.

Australia’s Kookaburras have secured a place in the competition final at the men’s Hero Hockey Champions Trophy, but their opponents in the showpiece gold medal match still remains a mystery.

India lodged an official complain to the FIH tournament director against the second shot taken by Australia, saying the obstruction by India goalkeeper Sreejesh was after the hooter. Great Britain ended on six points and Belgium were left on four points.

“I don’t score too many goals, as everyone keeps reminding me”, said Australia’s Tristan White, a player clearly relishing stepping up from the defensive line into the Kookaburras midfield.

Despite the disappointment of not reaching the final, Great Britain still have a chance of medaling at the event when they face Olympic champions Germany in Friday’s bronze medal match.

Both the teams tried their best but they failed to break the deadlock, taking the game to the shoot-out, where the Australians won and claimed the title for the seventh time in the last 16 years. So very evident just 10 minutes into the match, when Australia were awarded their first penalty corner.

Australia mounted the pressure on India but the latter managed to stay strong, thanks to the heroics of central defender V.R. Raghunath. Australia’s Tyler Lovell was alert to the danger though, saving it sharply. Having faced each other just the previous day, both the teams looked more confident in their strides and neither could rustle up a clear scoring opportunity halfway into the first quarter. The result was Germany’s biggest ever victory at a Champions Trophy, surpassing their 6-1 win over Spain in Karachi way back in 1981.

A Mandeep Singh strike early in the fourth quarter gave India genuine hope.

The hosts needed to win to qualify for the finals while Belgium were in the same spot but it was not to be.

Only Harmanpreet Singh was able to score for India while SK Uthappa, SV Sunil and Surender Kumar all shot wide off the target in the shootout.