Paris Olympics, hockey: Harmanpreet scores brace as India defeat Ireland 2-0

Paris Olympics 2024, Hockey: Harmanpreet Singh Nets Brace as India Beat Ireland 2-0; India secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Ireland to secure the top spot in the Men's Pool B at the Paris Olympics 2024 on July 30. India skipper Harmanpreet Singh scored both the goals, once from a Penalty Stroke and then from a penalty corner to continue India's unbeaten run.

In Short

• India defeated Ireland 2-0 in Paris Olympics Pool B clash
• Harmanpreet Singh scored both goals for India
• India next face Belgium on August 1 in the Paris Olympics

India secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Ireland to secure the top spot in the Men's Pool B at the Paris Olympics 2024 on July 30. Yet another game and yet another time, India could not stray away from the usual dependency on skipper Harmanpreet Singh, who scored both the goals for his side. With this win, India have momentarily secured their place at the top of Pool B, overtaking Australia and Belgium.

India enjoyed the majority of the attacks over the first two quarters of the game, which saw Harmanpreet give India the lead in the middle of the first quarter from a penalty stroke. Cut to the second-quarter, Harmanpreet secured a two-goal cushion for India from his speciality, a penalty corner on the third retake. Ireland struggled immensely to draw out anything from the match throughout the majority of the first-half, and disappointment flowed out fluently in coach Mark Tumilty's speech to a disheartened set of Irish players after the second quarter.

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Too much dependency on Harmanpreet

Throughout the game, any Indian hockey fan would be able to point out the increased dependency of the side on their skipper, Harmanpreet's speciality from the penalty corner. The match did showcase some brilliant attacking runs from the likes of Lalit Upadhyay, Mandeep and Manpreet Singh, India's finishing still screams out for polishing.

Against opponents like Belgium and Australia, who boast a fiece attacking lineup in their side, India will need to pounce on every chance they get in those matches and not repeat their finishing struggles like they did against Argentina and, most recently, Ireland.

Ireland's strong but late fightback

Despite their immense struggles in the first two quarters, Ireland made a strong attacking comeback in the second-half and even put PR Sreejesh to the test with multiple penalty corners. Irish skipper Sean Murray led many attacks and the likes of Peter Brown, Kyle Marshall and Daragh Walsh shifted to the top of the aggressive gear towards the dying minutes of the game.

However, India's defence looked much more composed in this game than what they were in the Argentina game, and Sreejesh came out on top every time he was needed to. With an effective clean-sheet to their name, India will now have some great confidence in their ends as they move forward in Paris Olympics with promise.

India next face Belgium in the Men's Pool B on August 1, which will again turn out to be a crucial match for their