Hockey: Experts rave performance as India end on high

IMAGE: Team India players celebrate after winning the Olympic Hockey Third Place Playoff against Spain. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis

In Tokyo, they celebrated the resurgence of a dormant emotion and after a second successive Olympic medal in Paris, India's hockey fraternity marvelled at the mental fortitude of Harmanpreet Singh and his men, who refused to be cowed down by setbacks and inspired each other to perform better with every game.

India clinched a second successive Olympic bronze medal at the Games for the first time in 52 years with a 2-1 triumph over Spain in the third position playoff on Thursday.

It was a remarkable come-from-behind effort within 48 hours of enduring a 2-3 defeat at the hands of world champions Germany in the semifinals, shattering their hopes of breaking a 44-year-old gold medal jinx.

"The fighting spirit and unity which the Indian team showed in this Games is a game-changer. They fought as a unit in adverse situations and climbed up match by match. This is truly remarkable," captain of the 1975 World Cup-winning side Ajit Pal Singh told PTI.

"The gold would have been a dream come true moment for Indian hockey, but this performance will definitely inspire youngsters to take up hockey as a career," he hoped.

IMAGE: Harmanpreet Singh of India celebrates winning the match. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis

Before Thursday, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side had produced another tenacious performance against Britain in the quarterfinals.

Despite being down to 10 men for close to 42 minutes after key defender Amit Rohidas was shown a red card for a contentious tackle on a rival forward, the Indians fought tooth and nail to secure a 4-2 triumph in the shoot-out.

It was a win inspired by talismanic goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who played his last international match on Thursday. After he announced his decision before the Games, the team got together to announce that it is going "do it for Sreejesh" in pursuit of the podium.

Although the loss to Germany meant that they missed out on a silver of gold finish, the Indians did exceptionally well to claim a bronze for the second consecutive edition.

The last time India won back-to-back Olympic medals was in 1968 (bronze) and 1972 editions (bronze).

"Sreejesh and Harmanpreet are heart and soul of the team. Sreejesh is the best goalkeeper India has ever produced. Whenever he is in front of the goal, even if everybody else is beaten, there is a hope (that he will stop the attack) and he has showed that in his last Olympics," Ajit Pal added.

Former India captain Zafar Iqbal, a member of the 1980 Moscow Olympics gold medal-winning side, lauded the mental strength of the current team.

"The mental toughness of this team is at a different level. Whether you win or lose in such a tough competition, you have to have that sort of mental strength," he said.

"They have raised their game match by match. It's a big honour and great achievement and big morale-booster for Indian hockey. This performance will only popularise hockey in the country. It will produce more quality players. It will have a big impact," he predicted.

Ashok Kumar, son of legendary striker Major Dhyan Chand and a member of the 1975 World Cup-winning side, too was in awe of the mental toughness shown by the team team.

"It's an unbelievable performance, they have improved step by step in every game. Their mindset is very positive, and the spirit and unity among the team has built the base," he told PTI.

"It is big for Indian hockey. It came from the blood and sweat of the players."

• THE OLYMPICS, 2024