Day three of the Rio Olympics 2016 was largely disappointing for India as none of the athletes in action advanced, while both the hockey teams lost. Abhinav Bindra narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the final after losing the bronze-medal shoot off, the men’s hockey team suffered a late 1-2 defeat to Germany, while the women’s hockey side was thrashed 0-3.
India’s women’s hockey team was outplayed 0-3 by higher-ranked Britain in its second group stage match.
Ranked seventh in the world, Britain scored through Giselle Ansley (25th minute), Nicola White (27th) and Alexandra Danson (33rd) while India couldn’t open their tally. World number 13 India found the going tough against Britain from the start, as the opposition attacked with regularity and intruded the Indian circle with using both the flanks to the maximum.
From the very first minute, both the teams played a calculated game and struggled hard to keep the possession of the ball. Both the teams did not allow each other to take advantage of any scoring prospects.
India had a genuine shot at goal towards the fag end of the game but even that wasn’t converted and India were not able open their account in the 60 minutes. In a very tough group, it will take a lot of effort from the Indian unit to challenge skillfull oppositions.
The women’s team play Australia next on Wednesday, while the men’s team face Argentina.