As the clock at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium wound down to the final two minutes of the match, Spain lay siege to the Indian goal. Having taken the lead in the 18th minute, which they lost to two Harmanpreet Singh penalty corners either side of the half-time break, Spain were at the last chance saloon.
They needed to score quickly to have any chance of forcing a penalty shootout in the men’s hockey bronze medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics. They did most things right as they searched for the equaliser.
The forwards did their job by winning four penalty corners in the final 90 seconds. They even forced India captain Harmanpreet Singh into making a rash challenge which he was fortunate enough to escape without getting booked.
The Spanish penalty corner batteries had four tries at the Indian goal and all four times they were denied. After being one of the best teams in Paris over the last week, India were not planning on going back home empty handed. Like at Tokyo 2020, they went on to take the bronze yet again.
As the hooter went off to signal the end of the match, the Indian bench cleared out as they piled on PR Sreejesh, who had just played his final match for India, to celebrate a much deserved victory.
“With the Olympics, we have to wait for these stages,” Harmanpreet Singh said after the win to the official broadcaster. “As a hockey player it’s not easy, not even for the viewers. But our mentality is that every time we come to the ground, we come to win. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, but it was our destiny to win something.”
For anyone who had not watched any of India’s previous matches in Paris, today was the perfect representation of what they have been all about.
They never lost their heads, denied Spain clear goal scoring chances from open play and had peak Harmanpreet Singh on drag flicking duty.
Also read: ‘Courage etched in every stride’ – Reactions as India win bronze in Paris
The bronze medal was the perfect response to the doubters who feared India would not be able to repeat their heroics from Tokyo 2020. Heading into Paris, there was a fear that the team had an under-firing forward line and was over-reliant on the Indian captain to chip in with goals from penalty corners.
Harmanpreet Singh, the 28-year-old defender, was in the form of his life in Paris as he finished as the highest goalscorer with 10 goals. Unlike in Tokyo where Rupinder Pal Singh shared penalty corner duties with him, Harmanpreet Singh single-handedly took over the drag flicking responsibilities in Paris.
Also read: Harmanpreet Singh – the calm leader and ruthless drag-flicker for team India
The young duo of Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh were dynamic throughout the tournament as they enjoyed a memorable Olympic debut. No one harried defenders better than Sukhjeet Singh. No one smacked the ball harder than Abhishek as Belgium’s Vincent Vanasch and Australia’s Andrew Charter found out.
There were also questions asked about Craig Fulton’s defend-to-win philosophy.
Was his insistence on playing defensive hockey, where the team focused on not conceding easily, hampering India’s natural tendency to attack? Will the team, who had played attacking hockey under former coach Graham Reid, be able to adjust to the new style of play?
Those questions only intensified after India lost all matches comprehensively in a five-Test series in Australia earlier this year. With India drawn alongside Australia and Belgium in Paris, there was uncertainty about how the team will perform.
Even if the media and the fans doubted Fulton’s philosophy, the players did not. And in Paris, the rest of the world saw why.
After getting close wins against New Zealand and Ireland, and rescuing a point against Argentina late on, India harried Belgium before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat. Despite qualifying for the quarter-finals, India still looked undercooked. The doubts were put to rest in their final group game.
Against the Tokyo 2020 silver medallists Australia, India put in one of their best displays of counter-attacking hockey to secure a famous 3-2 win. It was their first over Australia at the Olympic Games since the 1972 Munich Games.
That was followed by a backs-to-the wall performance against Great Britain in the quarter-finals. Reduced to 10 players after Amit Rohidas was sent off early in the second quarter, India defended with their lives to secure a 1-1- draw before triumphing in the penalty shootout.
“If you look at our tournament, we’ve got better and better, but we’ve also had some setbacks,” Fulton said. “The GB game prepared us for pretty much anything. And the disappointment of the semi-final wasn’t easy. But to pick yourself up to go again was testament to the group and the character of the team.”
One of the first things Harmanpreet Singh did in his post-match interview was apologise for not winning gold. Despite winning back-to-back Olympic medals for the first time since the 1970s, the team is disappointed to not have reached the final. The celebrations were not as delirious as the ones after Tokyo.
In their post-match interactions, you could tell from Harmanpreet Singh, Fulton and Tokyo 2020 captain Manpreet Singh’s reactions that they believed they had fallen short of their target. There was a feeling of what could have been.
From an objective standpoint, the bronze in Paris feels like a bigger win. In Tokyo, India were outclassed by 1-7 by Australia in the group stages before being handed a 2-5 drubbing by Belgium in the semi-finals, the subsequent bronze medal being a welcome change.
That wasn’t the case in Paris. India were never outplayed in any of the matches in Paris. After patchy performances against New Zealand and Argentina, they came into their own against Belgium, Australia and Great Britain. Their opponents were made to work hard for their goals and chances.
Spain won nine penalty corners but failed to convert any of them, thanks in part to Rohidas’ superb first rushing. If only Rohidas was available for the semi-final against Germany, India could have been playing the Netherlands for gold.
Nevertheless, the bronze medal in Paris only deepens the expectations from this team. Almost a century ago in Amsterdam, India, led by the legendary Major Dhyan Chand, embarked on an era of dominance.
The bronze in Paris could be the foundation upon which India rebuild their hockey dynasty.
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