Bronze at Tokyo Olympics: A new dawn for Indian hockey
New Delhi: No, they are no longer the butt of ridicule. On Thursday, the Indian men's hockey team flummoxed Germany 5-4 to win a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
The wait for a medal in hockey seemed eternal. For a nation which used to win gold medals regularly at the Olympics (8 overall) when one man answering to the name of Dhyan Chand mesmerised the world with his stick, hockey has changed.
Yes, India won a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. At that time, the Western Bloc boycott had diluted the competition and the triumph cannot be termed as classy.
Since then, the 41-year-wait had become agonising. The pain was acute each time the Indian men's team flopped at the Olympics. Tokyo represents a new dawn for Indian hockey. That it happened in the Land Of The Rising Sun makes it more special.
From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and cine star Shah Rukh Khan to the star cricketers, the congratulatory messages were overwhelming for Team India. Odisha has provided great training facilities and competitions for the Indians in the past. The FIH World Cup will be held there again in 2023.
"It was fantastic, the way we played today. I think we deserved this medal as we have worked so hard, and the last 15 months has been so difficult for us, being in Bangalore away from our families. From the whole team and the coaches we would like to dedicate this medal to our doctors and front-line warriors who have been checking us and saved so many people's lives in India," said Indian captain Manpreet Singh.
"This dream won't be possible without the encouragement and vision of Honourable Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik Ji, who has been supporting us throughout the journey - thank you so much Sir from the team and I," tweeted Manpreet later.
"It was a fantastic performance by the team today, apart from the first 7-8 minutes. The Germans were very pumped from the very first whistle today and we paid the price early. The team made a great fight-back today," said coach Graham Reid.
What is it about hockey, a simple game, where the contest between players wielding a stick and fighting for the white ball which makes it so intense?
In today's time, on synthetic turf, it is about fitness, speed, timing and how quickly you release the ball to the teammate. Of course, the role played by the goalkeeper becomes more amplified, as shown by hero PR Sreejesh throughout the tournament. Thursday was no different as the man from Kerala, who has given his heart and soul to the sport, shone like a beacon.
On paper, Germany were favourites. They had a better ranking and reputation. They had more match practice despite the pandemic. And when they had taken a leads by two goals at one stage, it looked curtains for India.
No, there was a beautiful change in script as the Men in Blue played bold and beautiful hockey. There was a sense of urgency but the Indians made no mistakes for most part. The frontline played with fecundity and felicity, once again capturing the hearts of billions of viewers on TV screens around the globe.
Mind you, minus spectators inside the arena, to play at such sustained intensity was not easy.
The goal scorers for India were Simranjeet Singh (2), Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh and Hardik Singh. Timur Oruz put Germany into the lead just two minutes into the contest after India failed to clear their defensive lines before Simranjeet Singh levelled the scores early in the second quarter with a fierce backhand strike.
Simranjeet's effort was the first of five goals in the second quarter, with Germany dominating to open up a 3-1 lead thanks to goals from Niklas Wellen and Benedikt Furk. India hit a quick-fire double through Hardik Singh and the exceptional Harmanpreet Singh to take the score to 3-3 at half time.
India's momentum was not interrupted by the half time break, with Rupinder Pal Singh scoring a penalty stroke before Simranjeet Singh chipped home a fifth goal.
In the last few minutes, Germany did exert pressure but the Indian defence and Sreejesh held on. The key was not to make silly mistakes, though the quality of work done by the technical delegates in this match was average.
The man behind India's resurrection is coach Graham Reid. The genial Aussie instilled belief and ensured the Indian side would weld well. It was not an easy task as since March 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were so many limitations. He slogged it out at the national camp in SAI Bangalore.
Call it faith or call it date with destiny, Indian hockey has shown it deserves all the attention. Once again. The players from several states of India define integration and how important it is to play according to lessons planned on the drawing board and implementing it on the hockey field.
If hockey was an art for individual players, today it's a science which is taught by coaches from overseas. And for all those who ask why Indian coaches are not that good, the answer is they have to learn a lot. That will be the only way to ensure fundamentals taught at the grass root level are not flawed.
