Indian hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh scores brace to help side beat Spain 2-1

Rohit Mahajan in Paris

At 3.51 pm Paris time on Thursday arrived the moment in which were distilled years, lifetimes of passion. PR Sreejesh, the inspirational leader of the pack, stood facing his boys, his arms held wide open, as if he wished to take all 18 of them into one huge embrace. The team bowed to him, hailed him, cheered him as the saviour who, in the words of former captain Manpreet Singh, “always saves the team, as he did today”. India won the hockey bronze medal, beating Spain 2-1 in a pulsating final; India won a second Olympics hockey medal in a row for the first time since 1972 —“Hockey is back”, in the words of captain Harmanpreet Singh.

Moment to cherish for generations to come

A feat that will be cherished for generations to come! The Indian hockey team shines bright at the Olympics, bringing home the bronze medal! This is even more special because it is their second consecutive medal at the Olympics. PM Modi on X

Rs 1 crore each for Punjab players

• Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and his Haryana counterpart Nayab Saini congratulated the Indian team, saying the historic win would pave the way for restoring game’s pristine glory
• Mann said the 10 players from Punjab, who displayed finest hockey, would be rewarded with a cash prize of ~1 crore each as per the state government’s policy

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Then, reprising his Tokyo 2020 celebration, Sreejesh climbed atop the goal post and, looking up at him, the Indian team bowed to him once again. Sreejesh, having played his last game for India, got off only when the skipper asked him to and lifted the burly goalkeeper on his shoulders. It was a symbolic passing of the baton — Sreejesh, 36, had played his final game for India, and Harmanpreet, 28, India’s best player in Paris, will now carry the team forward.

Paris is very, very delightful, said Sreejesh, but Tokyo was very important. “We Indians, we’d all heard about our glory days, how good we were, but we’d never seen those days,” he said. “But when I got that medal, when the country celebrated that medal, it gave us hope. After that, we were not talking about just going to the Olympics, we were talking about winning a medal.”

Spain put the Indians through a wringer — they pushed India hard right until the very final second, earning four penalty-corners in the final 60-odd seconds, but the Indian defence stood firm. As coach Craig Fulton said, the team had prepared for everything and refused to crack under the greatest possible pressure at the greatest stage in the world.

Spain were stellar in the first half as well. India pressed hard, too, but Spain took the lead after Manpreet tackled Gerard Clapes from behind in India’s D —a penalty stroke for Spain! Captain Marc Miralles coolly stepped up and slotted the ball high into the goal, above the diving Sreejesh.

Spain, fired up, continued to surge deep into the Indian defence and got two penalty corners in a row, in the 20th minute, but Sreejesh and Co. kept the ball out. Spain had a still better chance, in the 28th minute, when Borja Lacalle shot the ball right at the post — the Indian fans, Mukesh and Nita Ambani among them, heaved a sigh of relief.

Thereafter, the game changed within minutes — in four minutes either side of the halftime break, drag-flick expert Harmanpreet fired his most important goal of the Paris Olympics, beating Spanish goalkeeper Luis Calzado with a shot to his left.

Then, in fourth minute of the second half, India won a penalty corner after a referral — this time Harmanpreet beat Calzado at his right.

The pace was hectic, the ball moving from one end of the pitch to the other with dazzling speed. Harmanpreet got an opportunity to get his hat-trick in the 35th minute, but Calzado managed to block the ball.

In the final five minutes, the Spanish team mounted attack upon attack into the Indian citadel, which seemed to become a bit shaky, the players a bit prone to nerves — Harmanpreet, normally the epitome of cool, smashed into the Jordi Bonastre in the final minute, in the Indian danger area, and conceded yet another penalty corner. India, however, managed to keep the ball out. The emotions then flowed, and the players shouted and hooped coach, and jumped up and down like kids, seemingly overcome by the joy of redemption after the agonising 2-3 loss to Germany in the semifinals.

In the 14-odd months since he took over as coach, Craig Fulton has often talked about building trust and strengthening the defence.

Fulton was happy with the fight the team put up today, and through the tournament. “We became a team, we did that through a very short space of time,” he said. “We had tough times in Australia (lost series 0-5), in Pro League. We came here as the underdogs, but here we are today!”

Harmanpreet, asked if he’d miss Sreejesh at the goal when he looks back towards the goal, said: “I’d miss him, but I’d like to thank him, love you so much brother. A lot of respect.”

“For 24 years, this was my home,” said Sreejesh. “I’ve lost my home of 24 years!”

Then, family that they have become, the man from Punjab looked at the man from Kerala and said: “But he’s with us! He’s not going anywhere!”