‘Memories of Moscow came flooding back’ | Tokyo Olympics News

It’s been 41 years, yet it still feels like yesterday. I was the captain when India won the last medal — a gold— in the Moscow Olympics. Since then, it has been four decades of drought and I have been part of it, in various capacities. I was the coach of the Indian team in 2000 in Sydney when India should have won a medal, but we slipped in our last group game against Poland.It still rankles. But all the anguish of these 41 years seemed a thing of the past when Indian goalkeeper P R Sreejesh kept that last-minute penalty corner against Germany out in the third-place play-off in Tokyo. It’s a bronze, but it means a lot more than that. For people like us, who have been part of this journey for so long, it was a moment of redemption.I was at a television show during the match and I must admit I was nervous. My mind raced back to the Rio Games in 2016 when Sreejesh conceded goals in the closing stages in the quarter final. I was worried but Sreejesh — on Thursday — was able to hold on to his own and give us a priceless moment which the entire nation will cherish for a long time.The final six minutes of the India Germany encounter was similar to the India-Spain gold medal encounter of 1980. Memories of that final came rushing back. There was a lot of tension in that match. We began that match well and were 2-0 up before half-time thanks to Surinder Singh Sodhi who scored both the goals. At the beginning of the second half, M K Kaushik’s strike had helped us take a comfortable 3-0 lead. But the match became tense from thereon. Spain’s skipper Juan Amat hit two goals in as many minutes to help them stay in the game. medium85099709India had a 4-2 lead in the 58th minute thanks to late Mohammad Shahid’s goal. But Spain never allowed us to breathe easy and continued to fight all the way till the end, just the way Germany did today. Amat’s goal in the 65th minute left us with only a 4-3 lead. As was the case in the India-Germany clash, Spain got two penalty corners late in the match. In the first penalty corner, I positioned myself on the right and anticipated that Amat’s shot would be at that end. I was right and managed to successfully block Amat’s fiery strike. With just seconds left on the clock, the second PC too came their way. This time, I switched to the left side and just when my stick had neutralized Amat’s shot — the final whistle was blown.We were still a hockey powerhouse in 1980. Little did we know that it would take us so long to win another medal. The bronze show of our team is a result of a collective effort and not due to individual brilliance alone. Seniors such as Sreejesh, Manpreet Singh were on top of their games during crunch situations. I was impressed with our midfielders’ show in the bronze medal clash. The youngsters have been a revelation in the tournament. The support staff and the federation need to be lauded for grooming young guns such as Gurjant Singh, Simranjeet Singh and many others who were part of 2016 junior World Cup. The belief in the young players have certainly paid rich dividends for India. The entire hockey ecosystem must be commended for putting our country back on the Olympic podium. medium85099793There will be comparisons of this team with the ones that used to win medals as a matter of habit in Olympics. I believe that it’s just not right to compare teams from different eras. For me, what stood out about this Indian team was its never-say-die attitude. On numerous occasions in this tournament, we were behind our opponents but the fight and the fire never went away. Coach Graham Reid and the support staff have worked brilliantly on this team and the result is for all to see. medium85099827This Indian team has shown tremendous resilience in the biggest sporting event and that’s so heartening to see. Be it fitness-wise or with regards to mental ability, our team was top-notch. One has to be supremely fit to be able to withstand the pressure of featuring at the Olympics. Long national camps, Covid isolation etc. have forced players to be away from home from almost a year. Hats off to them for staying this hungry and driven for that elusive medal.The biggest question is — what does this win mean to the sport of hockey? Indian team’s performance in Tokyo will certainly amplify hockey’s profile in the country. It will drive more and more youngsters to take up this sport. There ought to be more and more scouting of young talent. Regular coaching camps for U-14 category players should also be conducted. I am hopeful that more corporates will come forward and invest in hockey. This medal-winning show will definitely go a long way in bringing us back to where we were, once upon a time.Untitled Carousel 85068115(As told to Prasad Ramasubramanian)(Baskaran, a top centre-half during his playing days, was India’s captain in 1980. He has also coached India a number of times)