Tokyo 2020: Mighty Australia hammer India 7-1 in men's hockey
Tokyo, Jul 25: The Indian men's hockey team was pummelled 1-7 by world number one Australia in their second pool A match of the Olympic Games here on Sunday, a morale-shattering loss that exposed every possible chink in the side's armour.
The mighty Kookaburras simply toyed with the Indian defence after the first quarter and scored goals at will to comfortably secure their second consecutive win in the competition. For India, it was their biggest loss since Australian Graham Reid took charge of the team as coach in April 2019.
Australia looked dominant and were in complete control from the onset, scoring goals through Daniel Beale (10th minute), Joshua Beltz (26th), Andrew Flynn Ogilvie (23rd), Jeremy Hayward (21st), Blake Govers (40th, 42nd) and Tim Brand (51st) to secure the easy win.
India's lone goal came from the stick of Dilpreet Singh in the 34th minute.
India had earlier defeated New Zealand 3-2 in their opening fixture on Saturday.
The Manpreet Singh-led side will next play Spain on Tuesday
The eight-time former champions looked completely off colour from the first whistle and the team's backline was put under relentless pressure by the Australians.
In the first quarter, the Indians put up a semblance of fight but in the next 15 minutes it was all Kookaburras, pumping goals at will.
However, it was India who had the first chance at the goal, earning a penalty corner in the eighth minute, but Harmanpreet Singh failed to execute from the set piece.
Two minutes later, Australia surged ahead when Beale deflected in Jacob Whetton's strike after a poor penalty corner execution.
A minute later, Dilpreet missed a golden chance from close range to level the scores.
India custodian PR Sreejesh then made a double save to keep the Australians at bay.
India were unlucky not to have equalised just seconds from the first quarter when Rupinder Pal Singh's low flick from their second penalty corner was brilliantly saved at the goalline by Andrew Flynn Ogilvie.
But the second quarter completely belonged to Australia as they scored three goals in a span of five minutes to take the game away from their opponents.
First Hayward found the net from Australia's third penalty corner and then Ogilivie slammed home from top right corner of the circle with a fierce hit past Sreejesh in front of the Indian goal.
If that was not enough, Beltz added to India's misery with a fourth goal, four minutes before half time with a reverse hit.
The Indians showed some spark after the change of ends and attacked the Australian goal in numbers. In the process they secured three back-to-back penalty corners but wasted all of them.
Four minutes into the third quarter, Dilpreet infused some life into the game by pulling one back for India, beautifully deflecting in Rupinder's defence splitting pass from the mid-field.
India wasted another penalty corner in the 40th minute when Mandeep Singh failed to deflect in Amit Rohidas' lay-off.
But that was all India could manage as Australia slowly tightened their defence and withstood the pressure.
The Kookaburras managed to turn the tide and scored three more goals to hand India a humiliating loss.
Govers scored two goals in quick succession -- first from the spot and then from a penalty corner -- before Tim Brand rounded off the tally by finding the net from a tight angle nine minutes from the hooter.
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Attack on Saif worrisome: NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule on Thursday expressed concern over the attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan by an intruder at his home in Mumbai and termed the incident as "worrisome".
Sule, who is a friend of Saif Ali Khan's wife Kareena Kapoor Khan's family, said the actor was hospitalised and was safe. The incident took place at around 2.30 am on Thursday at Saif Ali Kan's house in Mumbai's Bandra area, according to police. The actor, who was injured after the intruder attacked him with a knife, was hospitalised and required a medical procedure.
Sule spoke to Saif Ali Khan's sister-in-law Karisma Kapoor over phone in the presence of mediapersons at Baramati in Pune but declined to share details of the conversation. Saif Ali Khan was in hospital while Kareena had returned home, Sule was apparently told by Karisma Kapoor.
The NCP (SP) leader also enquired with Karisma Kapoor on how the intruder got inside Khan's house. "Saif is safe and in hospital. Wait for the official statement from the family and the police," Sule told reporters. The parliamentarian is a friend of Kareena Kapoor Khan's aunt Reema Jain, the daughter of legendary filmmaker and actor late Raj Kapoor.
"There was an attempted burglary in Saif Ali Khan and (his wife and actor) Kareena Kapoor Khan's residence last night. Saif had an injury on his arm for which he is in hospital, undergoing a procedure. The rest of the family is doing fine," Kareena Kapoor's team said in a statement. "We request the media and fans to be patient and not speculate any further as the police is already doing their due investigations. Thank you all for your concern," the statement said.
