Paris Olympics, hockey: Chaos not control, as Harmanpreet Singh’s India clinch a thriller against New Zealand

Craig Fulton, the head coach of the Indian men’s hockey team, loves buzzwords when he speaks about his philosophy. Top of that list would perhaps be ‘control’.

Against New Zealand at the start of their Pool B campaign at Paris 2024, India had very little of that. Conceding early meant they had to go chasing the match. It meant more open spaces in defence than he would have liked. However, in a chat with The Indian Express before leaving for Europe, Fulton had made an interesting observation. That coming from behind is perhaps easier than going out in front.

“It’s always easier to come back, it’s hard to get out in front and then defend it. The thing is you have nothing to lose when you’re losing,” he said.

Well, whether it was easy is up for debate, but India managed to do just that as they turned around a 0-1 deficit to win a thriller 3-2. India’s goals were scored by Mandeep Singh (24th minute), Vivek Sagar Prasad (34′) and Harmanpreet Singh (59′), the captain converting a penalty stroke in the dying minutes of the game.

In the end, it wasn’t the control that Fulton sought, but the chaos that has often been inherent to Indian hockey that reigned supreme.

It wasn’t by design. India didn’t go into the match looking to concede. But once they did, thanks to a Sam Lane penalty corner in the 8th minute, India went about their business of turning things around. They did leave themselves vulnerable to counterattack as they went searching for a goal, and Amit Rohidas had to make a vital interception to prevent New Zealand from going 2-0 up.

Paris: Indian and New Zealand’s palyers during the Pool B hockey match between India and New Zealand, at the Summer Olympics 2024, in Paris, Saturday, July 27, 2024. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary)

The equaliser came soon after from Mandeep towards the end of the second quarter as he produced a poacher’s finish off a penalty corner rebound. That should have settled the nerves somewhat but if the first half saw both sides being sloppy in equal measure in a somewhat cagey affair, the second was complete mayhem.

Fine margins

Soon after the restart, India took the lead through Vivek. He squeezed the ball under the otherwise sensational custodian Dominic Dixon. The umpire whistled for the goal immediately but went up to review it for himself, to double-check if he had made the right call. Numerous replays were needed but eventually the umpire was advised to stick to his original call. On another day, that moment might not have gone India’s way but the goal stood and India now had a lead to protect.

New Zealand made it hard. PR Sreejesh, who is retiring from international hockey after Paris 2024, lived up to a sporting cliche. Bow out when the world asks why and not why not. He pulled off at least three sensational saves in the remainder of the third quarter to keep India ahead even as the defence invited a lot of pressure onto themselves.

The equaliser for New Zealand did eventually come after a series of penalty corner retakes eventually broke down the Indian defence. For a brief while, the ghosts from Odisha came back. There, the Black Sticks had held India to a draw before beating them in the shootout at the World Cup.

In the end though, with less than three minutes to go, Harmanpreet’s penalty corner attempt forced a penalty stroke and the Indian captain tucked the ball home, and roared in joy.

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New Zealand still forced one big chance at the other end, but India held on. The sentiment after the game must have been relief more than elation, as they prevailed in a match where they weren’t at their best. But at this stage of the tournament, with Australia and Belgium also winning their matches, a win matters the most. Improvements are needed as they go forward, but three points are in the bag.

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