Bronze, worth the wait in gold
Indian men’s hockey team ends Olympic medal drought in spectacular fashion after 41 long years
Under the hot Tokyo sun, they lay on the glaring blue turf, their shirts soaked to the skin with sweat. A 41-year long wait had ended. India, once an invincible force that won six Olympic gold medals on the trot, last won an Olympic medal at Moscow 1980, and then appeared to simply fade away from the international game.
On Thursday, they were back, having beaten Germany, medallists at the last four Olympics (champions in 2008 and 2012), in the bronze medal play-off.
“Main toh wahin pe let gaya (I just lay down there). I had no words.” With those not so famous lines, the Indian men’s hockey captain, Manpreet Singh, described the feeling of having made history.
The clash was one befitting the occasion — an attacking, furiously fast-paced game with end-to-end action.
Germany took the lead early, in the second minute, and the pressure mounted. India scrambled up and down the pitch, looking frazzled but frenetic in defence. Then, in the 17th minute, Nilakanta Sharma received a ball in the midfield, swerved past two German players, and swept a defence-splitting pass to Simranjeet Singh, who scored with a breathtaking shot. It told the story of how far this team had come in the last two weeks that Simranjeet, who came to Tokyo as a standby player, was playing a starring role.
Germany replied with two more quick goals, a minute apart. It was 3-1, and it seemed like the dream would be shattered. But here’s where the Indians showed they deserved to be back among the world’s elite. In the next eight minutes, they unleashed the kind of magic that changes matches and wins medals.
Hardik Singh pounced on a rebound after a powerful dragflick from Harmanpreet Singh struck the goalkeeper in the 27th minute, and slammed it home before any of the German defenders could react. Harmanpreet then slotted home a penalty corner in the 29th; Rupinderpal Singh drove the ball home off a penalty stroke in the 31st; and Simranjeet, in the right place at the right time, tapped in after a tearing run down the flank from Gurjant Singh in the 34th.
From 1-3, it was 5-3, and there was nothing the Germans had been able to do about it.
The game was from there on was open, flowing, full of verve, as Germany tried to hit back. They reduced the deficit to one in the 48th minute, and stepped up the pressure the last 12 minutes, forcing one penalty corner after another.
Each time, Amit Rohidas came charging out at the shot; and if it went past him, PR Sreejesh was there, leaping to make saves. Here is another story that defines this team — Sreejesh, 33, a veteran of three Olympics, on the verge of retiring a few years back, rescuing India with preternatural reflexes throughout the Olympics.
In this match, too, it eventually boiled down to Germany vs Sreejesh.
With 6.8 seconds left on the clock, Germany got the last of their 13 penalty corners . When the shot came screaming at the goal, Sreejesh held a padded hand out and deflected the ball out.
The Germans sank to the turf, realising it was over. The Indians ran wildly, shouting at the top of their lungs. Manpreet fell on his knees and broke down in tears. Rupinder ran to him, and the two long-time teammates hugged.
“After we lost to Australia 7-1 (in the group stage), I was very sad that we lost by such a big margin,” Manpreet said later. “But Bobby (Rupinder) came to me and said, ‘wait till the 5th, we will return with a medal.’ So when he came to me today I told him, ‘Bobby what you told me has happened’. We didn’t get a medal in the Olympics for so long. I can’t express what I am feeling now.” Sreejesh joined them, before perching himself on top of the goalpost.
What was PR Sreejesh, the Indian team’s goalkeeper, doing perched on top of the goalpost even as his colleagues celebrated wildly at the Oi Hockey Stadium?
“A goalkeeper’s is a lonely job,” Sreejesh said, still sitting there. “Most of the time I am alone in my goal and he is my best buddy. When I concede a goal I tell him, ‘this is not the way’. If a ball hits the outside of the post, I tell him, ‘that’s the way buddy!’ So I am celebrating with my buddy.”
Sreejesh had every right to celebrate with his buddy. Together, they had endured a torrid last few minutes in India’s bronze medal play-off against
Germany. Even the clock was playing truant with India. In the final minute of the game, the clock was mistakenly not restarted on time. Consequently, a few seconds got added to the duration of the match. An animated Graham Reid, India’s coach protested from the sidelines.
In the midst of the chaos, Sreejesh stood like a rock. He had just deflected away two penalty corners, refusing a relentless Germany an equaliser in the dying stages. Now, another penalty corner came rolling. Gathering all his experience, he calmly punched away the drag flick and raised his arm in triumph to ring in the celebrations for what was Indian hockey’s first Olympic medal in 41 years.
The 33-year-old goalie from Kerala sprinted to hug his teammates, then took his place at the top of the post. “I did not know what to do after we won. It was like years of frustration coming out at that moment,” he said.
No one in this team knows that frustration better than Sreejesh. He is the only surviving player from the time Indian hockey hit rock bottom— not even qualifying for the 2008 Olympics. In 2012, he was the reserve keeper in London when India finished last without a single win. In 2016, he was in the goal when India were beaten in the quarterfinals by Belgium. “You know it has come after almost 41 years,” Sreejesh said. “The losses have been painful but now with this win we are passing on a legacy to youngsters. They will know that we are an Olympic medallist, they will believe that they can win that hockey gold again.”
Sreejesh had been one of the stars of India’s campaign in Tokyo, if not the decisive factor that gave India the medal. All through he has dived, palmed, and kicked with uncanny reflexes to stave off goal-bound strikes. “This is where years of experience comes into play. A goalkeeper is like an old wine, the more you play the better you become,” he said. “I have been playing for 21 years now and I have seen all the phases of a sportsperson.”
In every match leading up to here, Sreejesh has walked off the pitch with a grim face. Now he could not stop smiling, or cracking jokes. “Here comes my grandfather,” he said, when he saw Reid walking towards him, drawing a laugh from the Australian who seldom laughs.
After a series of grinning selfies, Sreejesh said, “now take a serious one.”
Why?
“Don’t know. I was serious for so many days.”