After suffering a series of defeats, we ended our campaign on a winning note. Beating South Korea 5-2 for the seventh position was creditable since the Koreans won silver in the last Olympics. The boys played well, and unlike in preliminary pool matches, converted the half chances.
Gagan had a good game, scoring opportunistic goals. Our midfield made good inroads and had a better understanding with the forwardline. Keeper Adrian and Dilip Tirkey again played well and handled the pressure against the hard running Koreans. The Koreans, however, forced us to concede too many penalty corners. Overall, the players put up a much better show.
The going was not easy for India in this Olympics. Too many unnecessary issues and problems cropped up right from Day One. Many of our players got injured and sometimes we went into matches with only 13 fit players. We were victims of poor umpiring and were not able to convert the chances that came our way.
The observations and constructive criticism I made in my columns -- which I sincerely thought were for the betterment of the team -- were termed as controversial and I once again found myself in the centre of controversy.
To set the record straight, I must say that I have been highlighting these issues to the team management since our training days in Germany. It was not that the authorities came to know about my views through my columns only. I am not the one who likes to take things lying down, and by now, the whole country knows how I felt about it.
{{/usCountry}}To set the record straight, I must say that I have been highlighting these issues to the team management since our training days in Germany. It was not that the authorities came to know about my views through my columns only. I am not the one who likes to take things lying down, and by now, the whole country knows how I felt about it.
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