Indian hockey: An Olympic medal not a dream anymore

It has been a long road to redemption for Indian hockey. None of the current players, who combined their will with remarkable preparation to fetch the Olympic bronze in Tokyo, were born when India had won the gold in Moscow in 1980.

Even for a team that boasts of eight gold medals in Olympics, this was a big deal, as it hinted a revival of Indian hockey on the world stage.

In reality, it was not the thirst for an Olympic medal, but a journey into the semifinals of the World Cup or Olympics that Indian hockey has been longing for all these years, and striving hard to achieve.

“This was my third Olympics. I was also the captain this time. The first in 2012 was a disaster, as we didn’t win any match. In 2016, we played well in Rio, but we could not clear the quarterfinals,” recalled Manpreet Singh, the captain of Indian hockey team, as he put things in perspective.

The government may have pumped in ₹100 crore on Indian hockey to ensure that nothing was left to chance in the long Olympic cycle of five years. The preparation, despite the pandemic, was so strong that the Indian team had the conviction that it would deliver a medal in Tokyo.

“We thought that having sacrificed so much and worked so hard, we can definitely win the Olympic medal, if we played our best,” said Manpreet.

Manpreet and the senior players shared their experience with the youngsters. Everyone agreed that they would not underestimate any team.

“This time the whole team gave its best in every match,” said Manpreet, as he pointed at the strong faith and firepower in the team.

The Indian team scored 25 goals, including a remarkable 12 field goals. It was the third best behind Belgium (35) and Australia (28).

The ability to pick itself up and play robust hockey after the 1-7 loss to Australia in the league stage, and the 2-5 loss to Belgium in the semifinals, revealed the strong character of the team.

“When we lost the semifinals, everyone was very disappointed. When we returned to the dressing room, I was told by the coach the our Prime Minister wanted to speak to us.”

The Prime Minister told us, “you have played very well. Don’t be disheartened. You just focus on your next game. The whole country is behind you and has faith in you.”

It felt great for the whole team.

“In our team meeting, we said that reaching the final was our target. Unfortunately that chance had gone. We have another chance. If we go back home empty handed, we would regret all our life. We have 60 minutes. If we play our best and give our 100%, we can go back happy. We will have a medal,” Manpreet said.

After the loss against Australia, the team analysed and realised that it had played well in patches.

“I told the team that we should retain our confidence. We can beat any team. We have done that in the past,” said Manpreet, reinforcing the need to have strong belief.

Manpreet remembered the semifinal loss to Malaysia in the last Asian Games in the closing stages.

“We tried to get better in the closing phase of a match, to handle things better in the last five or 10 minutes. If we are winning, we should keep the opponents in their half so that there is less pressure on us. We did a lot of work on defence. We knew that we had to maintain the intensity right throughout, till the last whistle,” he said.

The penalty corner for Germany with six seconds left on the clock was the final test for the team.

“It is not the last six seconds, it is 60 minutes of tension for me,” said goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, a strong pillar of India’s Olympic glory.

“We had one of the best defence against penalty corners. We told ourselves, come what may, the ball should not go inside the goal. Sree was there. Our first rusher, he blocks the left side. Sree knows that he has to focus on the right and centre. They hit and Sree saved,” said Manpreet, reliving the moment of glory.

Rarely has anyone celebrated the victory the way Sreejesh did as he climbed on the goal and sat on top, with his pads on!

“The goal post is my friend. I am with it all the time. I keep talking to it. There are so many different emotions. When there is a goal, you even abuse it. There is a bond,” said Sreejesh, the energetic goalkeeper, who has played a crucial role over the years, in the revival of Indian hockey.

“We had to wait for so long and worked so hard. That is why this success is so sweet,” summed up Sreejesh.

He had grown up hearing the greatness of Indian hockey, and Sreejesh has a strong sense of pride about his work and the cohesion in the team, working towards one goal.

“This medal will serve as a big motivation for the coming generation. The young people will feel the urge to do better and win the gold for our country,” said Manpreet, suggesting a new beginning for Indian hockey.

“Winning an Olympic medal is not a dream any more. People know that we can win an Olympic medal in hockey, and our life can change with it,” said Sreejesh, capturing the essence of the historic effort.