Resilient India beat England in shoot out to enter final

Resilient India beat England in shoot out to enter final
12 October 2010
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India produced a brave performance and came back from two goals down to beat England 5-4 in the penalty shoot and book a berth in the title clash of the Men's Hockey event in the XIX Commonwealth Games against 2010 Delhi against world champions Australia.

The Indians displayed great character and determination before a packed Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, to not only make a remarkable comeback into the match but also kept a cool head to convert all their strokes in the shoot-out after both the sides were tied at 3-3 at the end of the regulation 70 minutes.

The match was a tight affair can be gauged from the fact that the 15 minutes of extra time also failed to decide the winner, which brought shoot out into action.

In the shoot-out, the onus was on Sarvanjit Singh, Vikram Pillay, Sandeep Singh, Arjun Halappa and Shivendra Singh to deliver the goods and they did not disappoint as all of them converted their strokes with precision.

Indian custodian Bharat Chetri also turned out to be a star for India today as he made an all-important save in the shoot-out, denying Glenn Kirkham with a brilliant diving save to his right.

Even though Richard Smith, Richard Mantell, Ashley Jackson and Simon Mantell converted their strokes, Bharat's brilliant save clinched India the victory.

India will now face title holders Australia, against whom they lost 2-5 in the pool stages, in the summit clash on Thursday, while England will take on New Zealand in the bronze medal match.

Tonight's win also gave India their much-awaited revenge over the Englishmen, who beat them 2-3 in the FIH World Cup earlier this year at the same venue. - PTI