Seconds after the final whistle in the match for the bronze medal was sounded some Indian players jumped on goalkeeper Sreejesh while a few others covered their faces. A few more players ran around the field elated.
Far away in Saunamara village of Sundargarh, the family members and neighbours of defender Amit Rohidas too erupted with joy while converged around the television. The elder brother of the Indian team’s vice captain Birendra Lakra missed the match as his TV set had stopped functioning. Rohidas, who has been fearlessly charging at the penalty corner shooters at a ball travelling over 200 km per hour, was the most dependable man of the team in pool matches as well as the knockout stage, rushing out to defuse the opponent’s penalty corner attempt. Lakra did not play in today’s match.
“Your fearless energy on the field was commendable, Amit Rohidas. You were truly a rock-wall intercepting those penalty corners,” tweeted PM Modi while congratulating him on his stopping 15 penalty corners during Thursday’s match. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik too praised Rohidas and the hockey team’s vice-captain Birendra Lakra for the bronze medal and invited them to Bhubaneswar on August 16 for a felicitation ceremony.
The Odisha Olympic Association announced that it will honour Rohidas and Lakra with cash awards of ₹1 lakh each for the team’s performance. Earlier, CM Naveen Patnaik had announced a cash prize of ₹2.5 crore for the bronze medal winners.
{{/usCountry}}The Odisha Olympic Association announced that it will honour Rohidas and Lakra with cash awards of ₹1 lakh each for the team’s performance. Earlier, CM Naveen Patnaik had announced a cash prize of ₹2.5 crore for the bronze medal winners.
{{/usCountry}}At Saunamara, Rohidas’s family sat glued to their TV since morning hoping that the Indian team would win a medal in hockey and fulfil his later father’s dream. “Our father died of kidney failure in October last year when Amit was in the SAI camp at Bangalore. He came back for father’s last rites for a few days and rejoined the camp. It was our father’s wish that someday Amit would help the Indian team win a medal for India. Had he been alive, he would have been very happy,” said Niranjan Rohidas, Amit’s elder brother. His neighbours too sat around a LCD TV watching the match since morning.
Born in Saunamara village, the same place where former Indian defender and skipper Dilip Tirkey was born, Amit is the only non-tribal from Odisha to represent the country at the international level. Like most children in Saunamara, considered the nursery of hockey in Odisha, he started with a bamboo stick, as there was hardly any access to proper hockey sticks in the village. He joined Panposh Sports Hostel in Rourkela in 2004 and started out as a forward, but on the advice of his coach Bijay Lakra he switched to defence as Lakra thought he had a good physique and capacity.
He got his first major breakthrough in 2009 when he bagged the Indian cap for the Under-18 Asia Cup held in Myanmar. In the 2016-17 edition of the Indian Hockey League (IHL), playing for Kalinga Lancers, Amit showed his skill as a defender against penalty shootouts. Over time, he would soon be seen as the successor of former Indian captain Dilip Tirkey, known for his defending skills.
“Amit is undoubtedly the best defender right now against penalty corners. It’s dangerous to rush out against an incoming ball and the delay of a fraction of a second can be dangerous. But he knows no fear. I have seen him growing from his younger days and the way he is playing, he has a long way to go,” said Tirkey.
In Birkira village of Sundargarh, Birendra Lakra’s elder brother could not watch the match as his TV set had stopped working. “After the match was over, my brother called up from Tokyo and added my mother, sister and brother-in-law in a conference call to tell us that India has won the bronze medal. We were very happy. I could not watch any of the matches my brother played due to a malfunctioning TV. I could only get information from my friends about the results of matches,” said his brother Sujit Lakra. “But I am so happy that India could win after 41 years.”
The 31-year-old Lakra, a veteran of over 200 international matches, made his Olympics debut in 2012 London Olympic Games, but unfortunately missed Rio Olympics due to a major knee surgery in 2016. A superb defender, Lakra excelled in the 2018 Champions Trophy, when the opponents could breach his rock-solid defence only 6 times. During the Argentina tour earlier this year, it was Lakra who stood out with his defensive work at crucial junctures as the team won 3-0 against the defending Olympic champions.