Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh praised PR Sreejesh as a legend following the seasoned goalkeeper's outstanding performance that aided the team in defeating Great Britain 4-2 in a penalty shootout to secure a semifinal spot at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. India, down to 10 players, triumphed over Britain in an exhilarating quarterfinal shootout after the game concluded in a 1-1 stalemate. Sreejesh, who is competing in the final tournament of his career, was the star in the shootout for India, making numerous saves during regular play.
"He is a legend, man, no doubt. This is his last tournament and he is playing like this. So we are looking forward and we still have two matches to go. We will give our best," Harmanpreet commented. India managed to win the demanding match despite playing with 10 men for the majority of the game due to a red card issued to defender Amit Rohidas for a reckless high stick in the 17th minute. The decisive penalty by substitute Raj Kumar Pal secured India's place in the semifinals for the second consecutive Olympics, aiming to reclaim the gold medal that has been elusive since 1980, after winning bronze in Tokyo.
Playing a man down seemed to inspire rather than dishearten India, who pressed forward and earned a penalty corner five minutes later, with captain Harmanpreet seizing the opportunity to score India's only goal. Britain equalized through Lee Morton after 27 minutes, but India held on to win the shootout. "We were pretty angry about the card, man," Harmanpreet remarked. "Angry, but it is what it is. We can't run from that. We had to manage and the mindset was there. We needed to defend quicker and make sure the diagonal balls, the overhead balls should be in our hands."
Meanwhile, eighth-ranked Spain upset reigning champions Belgium 3-2 in the second quarterfinal on Sunday, with captain Marc Miralles scoring a crucial third goal three minutes from time before the defense thwarted a comeback attempt. Spain had not advanced past the quarterfinals since Beijing 2008, while Belgium reached the last two Olympic finals, with several of their players holding gold and silver medals from the Tokyo and Rio Games respectively. Forward Jose Maria Basterra opened the scoring in the 40th minute by converting a goalkeeper deflection off a sharp pass from defender Jordi Bonastre, but the lead was short-lived as Belgium's Arthur de Sloover equalized a minute later. Forward Marc Reyne restored Spain's lead after 55 minutes with a field strike, and Miralles extended the advantage before Alexander Hendrickx pulled a goal back. "I think today is the best day of my life," Basterra said. "We had marked this day on our calendar, and now we are so happy. We have to enjoy today and tomorrow we will see our opponents and we will see how to beat them."
