Hungry for more
Indervir Grewal
Chandigarh, July 20
Manpreet Singh falling to his knees — exhausted, relieved and overjoyed — before burying his face in the blue turf was one of the most iconic images from the Tokyo Olympics.
After its historic bronze in Tokyo, hockey team targets gold
India had just pulled off a comeback for the ages, fighting back from 1-3 to beat Germany 5-4 in the bronze medal playoff. By the end, though, it had turned into a fight for survival for India. No wonder that when the final whistle was blown, India’s players looked physically and mentally spent.
It was this desperation to win at all cost — more than their tactical or technical ability — that earned India their first Olympics medal in four decades.
Two days earlier, India had relinquished a 2-1 lead to lose their semifinal 2-5. They were patiently taken apart by a tactically superior Belgium, but it was India’s inability to break free and run wild in a do-or-die situation that left the players and fans feeling frustrated and disappointed by the end of the game.
Against Germany, the intensity and desperation in their eyes had returned. They went all out when chasing the game, took the lead and then protected it with all their might.
It was the second time in five days that India had held on till the final whistle. In their dogfight of a quarterfinal against Great Britain, India absorbed relentless pressure to come out on top.
For a medal encore in Paris, India will have to match, if not improve upon, their performance from Tokyo, which will not be an easy task. The pandemic had disrupted the preparation of many nations — it showed in the many surprise results in all sports at the delayed Tokyo Games. The Indian hockey players, though, had stayed together for long durations, training in national camps. It resulted in the women’s team also finishing in the top-4.
This time, all the teams will be better prepared. And India have not shown the same level of intensity that they did in Tokyo. At last year’s home World Cup, India finished ninth after a string of uninspiring performances, which led to the ouster of Graham Reid.
Under new coach Craig Fulton and in a new system, India have shown a more measured approach. They have also tried implementing a mix of styles. But they have lacked intensity with their presses and when fighting for the 50-50 balls. Discipline has also been missing at both ends of the field, with mix-ups and lapses in defence and missed chances in attack. The biggest worry has been India’s poor penalty conversion rate, with captain Harmanpreet Singh still not back to his best since the debacle at the World Cup. These are the main reasons for India’s inconsistent performances so far this year.
To be fair, though, India have not been required to produce their best game. They won last year’s Asian Games with considerable ease — the competition level in the continent has steadily fallen over the last decade. The Asian Games gold gave them a direct ticket to the Olympics, meaning that India could afford to experiment till Paris.
But they can no longer take it easy, even in the pool stage. Australia have been India’s long-time bogey team — the 7-1 hammering at the hands of the Kookaburras in Tokyo was one of India’s worst defeats at the Olympics. In recent times, India have found it difficult to get past Belgium. Argentina, though not at the level that won them the 2016 Olympics gold, always trouble India with their physical game. Then there are the dogged New Zealand, who ousted India from the World Cup, and Ireland, who twice stunned Belgium in the Pro League in May.
Despite their tough pool, India are expected to finish in the top-4 and qualify for the quarterfinals. It was in the knockout stage in Tokyo that India produced two of their best performances in recent times. It will be no different in Paris — to get those two knockout victories for a medal and three for a gold, India will have to play with the same hunger and desperation they showed in Tokyo.
Hockey
Men’s team
PR Sreejesh | Jarmanpreet Singh | Amit Rohidas | Harmanpreet Singh | Sumit | Sanjay | Rajkumar Pal | Shamsher Singh | Manpreet Singh | Hardik Singh | Vivek Sagar Prasad | Abhishek | Sukhjeet Singh | Lalit Kumar Upadhyay | Mandeep Singh | Gurjant Singh
Reserve: Krishan Bahadur Pathak | Nilakanta Sharma | Jugraj Singh
Pool A
Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, France, South Africa
Pool B
India, Belgium, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Ireland
Top 4 from each pool reach the quarterfinals
India’s schedule
vs New Zealand | July 27
H2H*: 24 wins, 5 draws, 16 losses
vs Argentina | July 29
H2H: 18 wins, 2 draws, 13 losses
vs Ireland | July 30
H2H: 6 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss
vs Belgium | August 1
H2H: 19 wins, 4 draws, 18 losses
vs Australia | August 2
H2H: 16 wins, 6 draws, 50 losses
*Head-to-head record
Quarterfinals August 4
Semifinals August 6
Final
August 8
