Ireland 0-2 India
A dominant first-half performance by India condemned Ireland's men's hockey team to a third successive Pool B defeat in Paris.
Mark Tumilty's side came into the game off the back of a 2-0 loss to Belgium and a narrow 2-1 defeat to Australia, while India were looking for their second win of the Olympics so far, having drawn with Argentina and beating New Zealand in their opening ties.
Despite a much-improved performance from Ireland in the second period, two first-half goals from India ensured the damage had been done, meaning Ireland now face two must-win closing pool games against Argentina and New Zealand, respectively, in order to qualify for the last eight.
Tumilty said Ireland's slow start was "frustrating" but that the team "showed a lot of heart" in the second-half as they searched for a way back into the game.
He told RTÉ Sport: "It was frustrating, I didn't think we started the game very well in Q1 and Q2, we paid them too much respect.
"We asked for a much bigger effort in the second half, we showed a lot of heart out there, it was warm.
"We were definitely the team going forward much more in Q3 and Q4. Our penalty corners probably didn’t execute as well as we needed to.
"Disappointing, but still pleased with the second-half performance, something we have to bring into the next games."
According to Ireland defender Lee Cole, "tough" was the only word to describe the game.
He told RTÉ Sport: "It was really, really tough, the conditions are adding to the fact that we're playing the best in the world - three really, really tough opening games.
"I think tough is the main word, from minute one to minute 60.
"It’s not easy when you’re chasing a game against opposition of this calibre.
"We probably needed to tighten up a bit at the start, we started sloppy enough in all three games and came back a little bit stronger.
"Against Australia we had a strong finish, today we had a strong finish - but it’s very tough to chase a game, we’ve got to stay in it and make sure we start as well as we’re finishing these games if we want to start turning these nearly’s into results."
India came firing out of the blocks, controlling the majority of the phases and were duly rewarded ten minutes into the opening quarter.
Kyle Marshall's loose pass was picked up by Sukhjeet Singh who raced forward before having his shot saved by David Harte.
However, Shane O'Donoghue, on his way back to make a recovery tackle, fouled Mandeep Singh and a penalty stroke was awarded India's way.
Their captain Hermanpreet Singh stepped up to dispatch the stroke to Harte's left and give India a deserved early lead.
India picked up where they left off in the second quarter and extended their lead four minutes in.
Hermanpreet picked up a penalty corner before rifling a shot towards Harte's goal. It struck an Irish stick on its way goalwards before hitting the top of the net, doubling his and India's tally.
A stern half-time teamtalk from Tumilty seemed to have the desired effect when Ireland returned to the field in the second-half looking like a new team.
After going the entire first-half without winning a penalty corner, Ireland won eight in the third quarter alone.
However, they could not find a way past India's goalkeeper who ensured India saw out the remainder of the game.
India now move top of Pool B with seven points, while Ireland sit bottom, still waiting for their first points of Paris 2024.
The games against Argentina, on Thursday, and New Zealand, on Friday are "two cup finals" for Ireland, Cole said.
"First and foremost, we've got to look after our recovery, and, not to be too cliché, we’ve got to put these games behind us.
"Tournament hockey, two must-win games, we’ve got essentially two cup finals against Argentina and New Zealand.
"Argentina, we play quite a lot and know a lot about them, New Zealand not so much, so it will be two very different challenges," he said.
Tumilty added: "I do think we've shown we can compete and that’s the important thing in the last two games, we must compete and execute in the final third, and hopefully two wins will be enough to qualify for the quarter final."
