Eves lose bronze medal match 3-4 to Britain, win hearts
Tokyo/New Delhi: The tears refused to stop flowing down the cheeks of the girls. Even hours after losing a tight match and the bronze medal 3-4 to Great Britain in the Tokyo Olympics, skipper Rani Rampal and her teammates were inconsolable.
To say the girls played their hearts out in the most oppressive heat would be an understatement. With the mercury touching 43 degrees Celsius on the hockey pitch and the humidity killing, the fight against Great Britain was a tribute to the Indian girls' fitness and form.
At the end of the match when India lost, there was sadness. The girls started sobbing. Coach Sjoerd Marijne, who has been with the team for a few years did not know what words would comfort them.
"We showed a fighting spirit in the bronze medal match against Great Britain, but it wasn't enough. We gave away too many penalty corners and in these kinds of matches, you have to convert all of them into goals. I must say Gurjit (Kaur) did really well. I told the team that we didn't win a medal, but we achieved something bigger than a medal and that's inspiring an entire nation," said an emotional Marijne.
Even a long video call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who spoke at length about how girls will inspire a whole new generation, could not stop the tears.
The bronze medal play-off match was a hard one. The weather was killing and in the Indian team, over six of the players had battled Covid-19. In a match played at a fast pace where some of the girls had heat blisters on their legs and their heart rate racing over 130 due to the high intensity, they kept trying.
For effort alone, if medals could be given, the Indians would have worn some metal around their necks. These girls do not come from bustling cities but rustic backgrounds. There is simplicity in their life and magnanimity in their approach towards playing the national sport.
Was this the Chak De moment? Yes, it was. The rise of the Indian women's team like was that of phoenix, and to eventually finish fourth in the world was a tribute to their efforts. Strikes by captain Hollie Pearne-Webb and Grace Balsdon got Great Britain to four goals. Earlier, Ellie Rayer and Sarah Robertson opened up a 2-0 lead.
Incredibly, India responded with three goals in just four minutes, as Gurjit Kaur bagged two penalty corners before Vandana Katariya scored from open play to leave Great Britain trailing at half time.
A captain's goal from Hollie Pearne-Webb levelled the scores with a rare but high-quality strike from open play five minutes after half time, with the game's decisive moment coming from the stick of Grace Balsdon early in the fourth quarter, sending a low penalty corner drag-flick between the legs of India goalkeeper Savita Puniya.
Back to the composition of the Indian team, they come from Punjab, Haryana, Jharkand, and the states of the northeast. All of them have forgotten what home is. They have been in the national camps for over 16 months in SAI Bengaluru. There was a crisis during the first and second waves when the players were hit by the Coronavirus.
All of them fought back like tigresses.
Sadly, at a time when India should be celebrating the efforts of these simple girls, there are disruptive and divisive elements at play as well. For, the incident near Vandana Katariya's residence in Uttarakhand a few days ago, where a few mad men said the team lost a league match as she is a Dalit, exposed how fragile the country is.
You have girls from very weak financial backgrounds. Someone like Vandana has not been home despite losing her father three months ago. What eventually unites these girls in Team India is a religion they have embraced. It's called hockey.
