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Bronze, worth the wait in gold
Tokyo: Under the hot Tokyo sun, they lay on the glaring blue turf, their shirts soaked to the skin with sweat
Tokyo: Under the hot Tokyo sun, they lay on the glaring blue turf, their shirts soaked to the skin with sweat.
A 41-year long wait had ended. India, once an invincible force that won six Olympic gold medals on the trot, last won an Olympic medal at Moscow 1980, and then appeared to simply fade away from the international game.
On Thursday, they were back, having beaten Germany, medallists at the last four Olympics (champions in 2008 and 2012), in the bronze medal play-off.
“Main toh wahin pe let gaya (I just lay down there). I had no words.” With those not so famous lines, the Indian men’s hockey captain, Manpreet Singh, described the feeling of having made history.
The clash was one befitting the occasion — an attacking, furiously fast-paced game with end-to-end action.
Germany took the lead early, in the second minute, and the pressure mounted. India scrambled up and down the pitch, looking frazzled but frenetic in defence. Then, in the 17th minute, Nilakanta Sharma received a ball in the midfield, swerved past two German players, and swept a defence-splitting pass to Simranjeet Singh, who scored with a breathtaking shot. It told the story of how far this team had come in the last two weeks that Simranjeet, who came to Tokyo as a standby player, was playing a starring role.
Germany replied with two more quick goals, a minute apart. It was 3-1, and it seemed like the dream would be shattered. But here’s where the Indians showed they deserved to be back among the world’s elite. In the next eight minutes, they unleashed the kind of magic that changes matches and wins medals.
Hardik Singh pounced on a rebound after a powerful drag-flick from Harmanpreet Singh struck the goalkeeper in the 27th minute, and slammed it home before any of the German defenders could react. Harmanpreet then slotted home a penalty corner in the 29th; Rupinderpal Singh drove the ball home off a penalty stroke in the 31st; and Simranjeet, in the right place at the right time, tapped in after a tearing run down the flank from Gurjant Singh in the 34th.
From 1-3, it was 5-3, and there was nothing the Germans had been able to do about it.
The game was from there on was open, flowing, full of verve, as Germany tried to hit back. They reduced the deficit to one in the 48th minute, and stepped up the pressure the last 12 minutes, forcing one penalty corner after another. Each time, Amit Rohidas came charging out at the shot; and if it went past him, PR Sreejesh was there, leaping to make saves. Here is another story that defines this team — Sreejesh, 33, a veteran of three Olympics, on the verge of retiring a few years back, rescuing India with preternatural reflexes throughout the Olympics.
In this match, too, it eventually boiled down to Germany vs Sreejesh.
With 6.8 seconds left on the clock, Germany got the last of their 13 penalty corners . When the shot came screaming at the goal, Sreejesh held a padded hand out and deflected the ball out.
The Germans sank to the turf, realising it was over. The Indians ran wildly, shouting at the top of their lungs. Manpreet fell on his knees and broke down in tears. Rupinder ran to him, and the two long-time teammates hugged.
“After we lost to Australia 7-1 (in the group stage), I was very sad that we lost by such a big margin,” Manpreet said later. “But Bobby (Rupinder) came to me and said, ‘wait till the 5th, we will return with a medal.’ So when he came to me today I told him, ‘Bobby what you told me has happened’. We didn’t get a medal in the Olympics for so long. I can’t express what I am feeling now.”
Sreejesh joined them, before perching himself on top of the goalpost.
“A goalkeeper’s is a lonely job. Most of the time, I am alone in my goal and he (the goalpost) is my best buddy,” Sreejesh said. “So it was my way of celebrating with my buddy.”
On Wednesday, the eve of their match, India’s coach Graham Reid did something unusual. He organised a medal ceremony for the team. He asked each player to stand on a chair and imagine they were on the podium with a medal around their neck. It fired the team up.
“I came here (to the stadium) thinking about that,” said Sreejesh.
When it was all over, the team got together in the customary huddle with Reid. Together, they offered a prayer of thanks. “Before the game I asked the guys to make sure they bring the next level if something happens,” Reid said. “For example, if you are down, you need to bring the next level of play and they did that very well.”
Former players showered the team with praise for bringing Indian hockey back into the spotlight.
“We are back where we belong. This is where we always were when we all played. We are back on the podium. This has given a lease of life once again to hockey in India.” said Ajit Pal Singh, 1975 world cup winning captain.
“It’s done. The team showed today that we can win in modern hockey. The next generation or the youngsters, the team has sparked a new self-belief and confidence that we can win at the Olympics.” said former India captain Dilip Tirkey.
That’s what it was -- a bogey off the back, and the start of something new.
