Commonwealth Games: Indian men’s hockey squad edges past South Africa 3-2 to reach the final

Within the regulation time, Abhishek in the 20th minute, Mandeep Singh in the 28th minute, and Jugraj Singh in the 58th minute were the goalscorers for India.

In contrast, Ryan Julius in the 33rd minute and Mustapha Cassiem in the 59th minute scored for South Africa.

The victory secured a spot in the championship match for India and assured them of a podium finish.

India started the match aggressively as Lalit Kumar Upadhyay broke into the South African circle early in the game. Indian Captain Manpreet Singh passed the ball to Abhishek, but the South African defence denied India the opening goal.

Akashdeep Singh broke into the South African circle and created several fantastic opportunities, but the South African goalkeeper Gowan Jones made two consecutive saves. The first quarter ended with both sides failing to open the scoring.

South Africa took control of the game in the second quarter. However, the Indian goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak made several fantastic saves to regain control.

India finally got a breakthrough in the 20th minute when Abhishek fired the ball into the net with an excellent reverse flick to make it 1-0. Mandeep Singh doubled the lead for India with just two minutes left in the first half with a shot past the South African goalkeeper.

The second half began with India winning an early penalty corner. Varun Kumar took the shot but failed to convert. South Africa soon won a penalty corner, and Ryan Julius slotted the ball into the net on a rebound from the penalty corner to narrow the deficit to 2-1.

Jarmanpreet Singh created a brilliant opportunity for India as they tried to furth extend their lead in the final quarter, but her shot went wide. South African defence was placed on a backfoot as India launched back-to-back attacks.

India won a penalty corner with just two minutes left in the game. Jugraj Singh took the shot and extended India’s lead to 3-1. Just one minute later, Mustapha Cassiem scored for South Africa to make it 3-2 as the match ended.

India will lock horns with the winner of the semifinal clash between Australia and England for the gold medal on August 8.