The Olympic Games are a pressure cooker, the ultimate human rivalry, the climax of four years of intense and meticulous preparation. For coach Roelant Oltmans and India’s men’s hockey team, it has come down to five Group B games, a gateway to a more elevated Olympic journey in the knock-out phase, and – don't look now – a repeat of Moscow 1980, where they last won that elusive gold. Against Ireland, in the first pool game, they prevented a near all-out collapse, ultimately prevailing in a nervy 60 minutes on Saturday.
Oltmans is pragmatic, downplaying the undercurrent of Indian public opinion that a coveted gold medal may be in sight this time. He is often accused of setting India too defensively, and indulging a bit too much in the vaunted cliché of “taking it match by match”. Captain Sreejesh considered the opening game a way to forget the disappointment of London 2012, but also stressed the importance of not looking beyond the opening game.
Surprise package Ireland
But against Ireland – the surprise package of the last European Championship, finishing third and surprising the high-flying Belgians in the process – India took to the field with a singular mindset: to win and build on the platform of victory. That determination was omnipresent in the warm-up, wherein Indian players had an aura of concentration.
In the stands at the hockey centre in Deodoro on the northern outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Ireland's tricolours did not outnumber the Indian fans, who flocked in late. Chants of “India, India” were pitted against a beautiful rendition of the The Fields of Athenry, made a global hit by Irish football fans during a 4-0 trashing by Spain at Euro 2012.
On the turf, India dominated possession, but Ireland forced the Indians wide, tacking the sting out of the attack. In the eighth minute Peter Carruth threatened with Ireland’s first effort on goal, but his powerful reverse strike flew over the bar. Inside the last minute of the first quarter, India converted its third penalty corner with a powerful flick from VR Raghunath – 1-0, fair reward for India’s mild dominance and toil.
New captain PR Sreejesh offered guidance with instructions and positive body language, but up the field Sardar Singh remained of great value with his running, dribbling and overall vision. The former captain is still a metronome for India.
“Both our attack and forwards did a good job,” said Singh. “But we made some mistakes as the game went long. We’ll have to go back and analyse them.”
Ramandeep Singh missed a gilt-edged chance on the counter, but India were given a reminder that Ireland was, on the balance of play, still very much in the game when Kyle Good scored in a training ground move. However, the Spanish referee disallowed the goal for a block by Alan Sothern. Oltmans watched on, tense, with his notebook in hand.
Dazzling Rupinder
The renowned Dutchmen then pumped his fist as Rupinder Pal Singh finished a fine move from another penalty corner, agains towards the tail end of the quarter, to double India’s lead. Oltmans swivelled and high-fived Sardar Singh, seemingly proof of the good spirit in the team that he has eulogised so much in the lead up to the Olympic Games.
India went into half-time – Oltmans leading his team into the dressing room with a swagger – with a comfortable lead, reflecting the balance of power between the 5th and 12th ranked teams in the world.
In the third quarter, India were merciless, a blue wave pinning the Irish back in their own half. Oltman’s charges ratcheted up the pressure again, but Ireland’s John Jermyn pounced on a penalty corner that India had clumsily given away, much to the dismay of their coach who shook his head and turned his back as his team conceded.
Ireland’s goal left the game wonderfully posed. Oltmans gave his team a pep talk, with Sreejesh remaining subdued outside the huddle of players, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
Withstanding Irish pressure
Ultimately, India proved marginally better in converting penalty corners, with Rupinder Pal Singh scoring his second of the match eleven minutes from the end. Leading 3-1, India didn't look like relinquishing the lead, composedly attacking and defending as a unit, though Sreejesh had to pull off a fine save from O’Donoghu.
“Until the end of the third quarter we were in total control, but with a lot of carelessness we allowed Ireland a way back into the game,” said the coach after the game. “The big takeaway from this game is to learn to maintain control when you have it. To be honest, we surrendered control a bit to Ireland in the last part of the match,”
India, now agitated and lacking discipline, conceded another meek penalty corner, with Conor Harte tapping in after the ball popped up off the goalkeeper Sreejesh, 3-2. An all-out collapse was now impending, but as Ireland pressed and pressed, they failed to breach a double Indian wall. India and Oltmans got their winning start and platform, but only just.
A major improvement will be required on Monday against the mighty Germans. And Oltmans knows it, though he is hopeful. “Every team makes mistakes, even mistakes. We have to exploit their [Germany’s] mistakes. We’ve played them recently and did well. We understand their style of play,” he signed off.
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