How did the Indian men's hockey team perform at 2000 Olympics?

The hockey events at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney took place from September 16 to 30. The hockey field within the Olympic Park in the city hosted all the games of the event.

The continental champions from the five federations secured a direct qualification, including the Indian team, who won the gold medal in the 1998 Asian Games. Meanwhile, the other seven teams made it to the 2000 Olympics through Qualifiers.

The Indian team were captained by Ramandeep Singh and placed alongside Australia, South Korea, Argentina, Poland and Spain in Pool B.

In their first game, India secured a dominating 3-0 victory over Argentina, with Mohammad Sameer Dad and Mukesh Kumar Nandanoori scoring goals for the side.

The following game witnessed them playing out a 2-2 draw against Australia, with Nandanoori and Baljit Singh scoring one goal each. The Indian team then suffered their first loss of the tournament, losing 0-2 to South Korea.

Nevertheless, the Indian team bounced back strongly to clinch a 3-2 victory over Spain to keep their hopes alive. Baljit Singh scored a brace, while Dilip Tirkey scored the third goal.

But India could only manage a 1-1 draw against Poland and finished third in their pool, thus losing out on a semi-final spot.

In the fifth to eighth-place classification, India lost 2-1 to Great Britain before finishing the Games in seventh position with a 3-1 win against Argentina in their next game. Deepak Thakur, Sukhbir Singh Gill and Dhanraj Pillay were the goal-scorers for the side against Argentina.

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Netherlands got better of South Korea in a thrilling finale encounter at 2000 Olympics

In the first semi-final, South Korea secured a clinical 1-0 victory over Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Netherlands won 5-4 in a penalty shootout against Australia after the scores were 0-0 in regulation time in the second semifinal.

The final saw South Korea and the Netherlands score three goals each to set up a penalty shootout. The Dutch again displayed their proficiency in penalties, securing a 5-4 victory to claim the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. This was their second consecutive Olympic gold in men's hockey.