Paris Olympics: 1 man short, India script thrilling fightback to enter hockey semifinals

Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Paris has a mythical place in the Olympic universe. About 10 km from Notre Dame, it is the site of one of the greatest sporting spectacles, the 100 and 400m races of the 1924 Paris Olympics immortalised in the movie Chariots of Fire.

One hundred years later, the only venue from that era in use for the 2024 Olympics has potentially become a site for another sports epic — with the Indian hockey team at the centre.

On Sunday, India booked a second consecutive Olympics semifinal berth in memorable fashion, beating Great Britain in a penalty shoot-out despite being a man down for most of the match.

The drama came from a controversial send-off — an occurrence as rare in hockey as a flood less monsoon in Mumbai — which triggered a feeling of injustice among the Indians who fought for 43 minutes despite the disadvantage.

India’s captain Harmanpreet Singh (C) celebrates a goal with others during the Hockey Men’s Quarterfinal match between India and Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, at Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, in Colombes, France. (PTI)

It was a massive show of courage combined with tactical acumen and a defensive masterclass not commonly associated with Indian hockey. And at the end of a drama-filled two hours, India savoured one of their most famous wins, winning 4-2 after the scores were level 1-1 in regulation time.

“Because of the way we fought, this is the greatest win I have enjoyed since I started playing for India,” former captain Manpreet Singh, playing in his fourth Olympics, said. “This is the toughest 60 minutes I have spent on a hockey field, especially given what’s at stake,” coach Craig Fulton said. “It is a statement win.”

The performance highlighted India’s eighth day of competition at this Olympics with two bronze medals from shooter Manu Bhaker, one of them in a team event with Sarabjot Singh, and another from Swapnil Kusale to show so far.

It also came on a day when the country’s badminton star Lakshya Sen went down 20-22, 14-21 to defending Olympic champion Victor Axelsen in the singles semifinals and Tokyo Games bronze medallist boxer, Lovlina Borgohain, crashed out in the last-8 stage.

The hockey quarterfinal against Britain was a battle of equals for 17 minutes. But in the second minute of the second quarter, defender Amit Rohidas did what could be called the equivalent of the Zinedine Zidane head-butt during the final of the 2006 Football World Cup.

Amit Rohidas of India in action with William Calnan of Britain and Zach Wallace of Britain. (Reuters)

In a duel for possession with Will Calnan, Rohidas lifted his stick, which hit the Britain attacker on his head. The referee halted play and after consulting the video umpire, deemed that Rohidas’ actions were intentional, and he was shown a straight red card. In the last 11 years, there have only been four instances of a player being sent off in a major tournament — and never in the Olympics.

The Indian players protested, their coach argued with match officials and the Indian spectators booed in unison. It’s almost unheard of in international hockey that a team plays threequarters of a match with one man less and emerges victorious. But this Indian team rose to the challenge.

Before coming to Paris, they had spent three days in the Swiss Alps performing stunts that the team’s mental coach Paddy Upton said were “genuinely scary” and had “consequences much worse than losing a hockey match”. It was designed to foster a spirit of oneness among players and make them perform when dragged out of their comfort zones. In a nutshell, it was to prepare them for moments like these.

Harbouring an us-against the-world attitude, they turned the setback of losing one player into motivation and launched into attack mode, combining anger with artistry to raid the British ‘D’. Within five minutes of the red card, captain Harmanpreet Singh put India ahead with his trademark drag-flick. When Britain scored, two minutes before half-time, it felt like the floodgates would open.

India’s Manpreet Singh (7) vies for the ball with Great Britain’s Jack Waller (3) during the Hockey Men’s Quarterfinal match between India and Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, at Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, in Colombes, France. (PTI)

But what followed after India reemerged from the dressing room for the second half was a defensive masterclass that converted even the neutrals in the stands.

The Indian players fought for every loose ball, bent so low to stop Britain’s passes that they had bruises on their knuckles, and did well not to crumble under relentless pressure from the opposition who attacked from all sides.

There were two minutes when at the start of the fourth quarter India were down to nine men. But even though they had two men less, India did not lose their shape and thwarted every British attack — there were 24 of them, an average of one every two-and-a-half minutes.

When the hooter sounded after 60 minutes, India’s players celebrated the 1-1 tie as if they had won the match. Hardik Singh punched the air and Vivek Sagar Prasad bent and kissed the surface. Fulton smiled — for the first time this morning — and goalie Sreejesh walked with a swagger, knowing the match was now in his territory, penalty shootouts.

The veteran goalkeeper had been involved in 22 shootouts and on 12 of those occasions, India had won. On Sunday, he denied two rival players to put India in the driver’s seat for the first time in the match. After Olympics debutant Raj Kumar Pal beat the British goalkeeper to score the goal that sealed the result, there was a downpour of emotions.

Manpreet Singh of India and his teammates in action during a penalty corner. (Reuters)

The British players sank to the blue turf in tears, a look of disbelief plastered on their faces.

Around them, one or two Indian players were doing a Sourav Ganguly–removing their t-shirts and waving it in the air –while a few others embraced each other and high-fived. The spectators — mostly from the Netherlands, Belgium, Britain and India–rose to give the players a standing ovation as they left the field.

“Today, we played for all those who believe ki hockey India ki hai (hockey is India’s own),”vice captain Hardik Singh said.

Hardik was mobbed for selfies and autographs. So were the others. Amidst the commotion, coach Fulton heard the sound of his daughter from behind a curtain that separated the spectator’s area and the field of play. He rushed to the fence, saw her tiny feet on the other side, bent and touched them. Fulton could only see her shadow on the curtain and she could only hear his voice — a moment of solitude in the middle of all the chaos.

Joyous scenes straight out of a movie script.

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