10-man India stun Britain, enter Paris Olympics hockey semis after Sreejesh's shootout sparkler

PARIS: Yves-du-Manoir, the venue of India's hockey quarterfinal match against Great Britain, was the setting of one of the greatest underdog sports films of all time - Escape to Victory.

On Sunday, Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh rose to the cinematic heights of Captain Robert Hatch, the Allied POW team goalkeeper played by Sylvester Stallone in the film, as the defending bronze medallists fashioned an incredible escape to make the semifinals.

Reduced to 10 men in the second quarter after defender Amit Rohidas got a red card, it was seemingly a losing battle for India. But Sreejesh decided that nothing was going to go past him on the day. After Britain's equaliser, he made save after save for the next two quarters as the match ended 1-1 after 60 minutes.

Indians celebrated, confident that Sreejesh, who'll retire from international hockey after the Games, would be hard to beat. The 37-year-old brought all his experience in to play, forcing Connor Williamson to shoot out and then saving the 4th penalty by Roper to set up a famous 5-3 win.