New Delhi: India bagged back-to-back bronze medals in the Olympics after triumphing 2-1 against Spain on Thursday in the bronze medal match at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir. In the build up of the quadrennial showpiece event, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side wasn’t favourites to finish on the podium after losing to top-ranked teams in the Pro League and Australia tour.
But that wasn’t the case in Paris as a massive transformation took place and the team finished at the second place in Pool B. A historic first win against Australia at the Olympics since 1972 changed the narrative and deemed the Men in Blue as contenders for the gold. The hopes increased after 10-men India showed dogged resistance against Great Britain in the quarterfinal to enforce a penalty shootout and eventually win it by a 4-2 margin.
India went down to Germany 2-3 in one of their best attacking displays of match before bouncing against Spain.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh, who finished as tournament’s top goal-scorer with 10 goals in eight matches, credited the team’s success to mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton and a three-day boot camp with Mike Horn in Switzerland.
“Yes, definitely, the mental toughness of this side is totally different. We are a united bunch and we backed each other and motivated each other when chips were down,” Harmanpreet told news agency PTI after returning to India on Saturday.
“From first to last (game), we played as a unit and backed each other in search of the gold medal. Definitely Paddy Upton has a big role to play in this. Even the three-day camp with Mike Horn before the Olympics made our bond more strong. So mentally we were in a good space,” he added.
South Africa-born Upton, who previously worked with the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team, came on board with Hockey India in June last year. He was instrumental in the men’s side winning the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games, which earned them a direct qualification in the Paris Games.
It was Upton’s idea to have a camp with Horn before the team made its way to Paris. The three-day stay in Swtzerland included activities like walking on a glacier with harnesses, cycling, climbing and rappelling down waterfalls.
Harmanpreet lauds brother Sreejesh
Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh called it time on his illustrious hockey career after representing the national side in 328 matches over 18 years. He will hang his boots with numerous accomplishments from elite competitions with the two bronze Olympic medals will be cherry on the cake.
Harmanpreet, who exchanged his medal with Sreejesh on the podium just as he did in Tokyo, wanted the veteran player to continue for some more time but understood the desire of his close friend to finish his playing time on a high note.
“Sreejesh and I are like brothers, we have played together for long. Yes, I want him to continue playing for some more years but at the end of the day it’s completely his personal decision and we should support it. He is a legend and Indian hockey will only benefit when he joins the Indian junior team as coach,” he said.
India won successive medals at Olympics in hockey for the first time after 52 years.
(With inputs from PTI)
Captain Harmanpreet Singh, who finished as tournament’s top goal-scorer with 10 goals in eight matches, credited the team’s success to mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton and a three-day boot camp with Mike Horn in Switzerland. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
