Team India was advised they will be facing a situation “when shit happens” somewhere in the Alps.
The players were warned by their trainers that such an occasion would come as a shock, ruin their carefully set plans, and force them to improvise. “Big tournaments are where it always happens. You have no control over what will happen when, nor can you plan ahead. However, psychologically, you ought to be prepared, argues men’s team psychologist Paddy Upton.
It did occur in the seventeenth minute of the quarterfinal matchup with Britain. Amit Rohidas was fighting Will Calnan for possession when he raised his stick recklessly, striking the Britishman in the head. It was only the fourth occasion in the previous 11 years that a player had been sent off at a major tournament when Calnan went to the ground and the umpire gave the Indian defence a red card.
Even though they eventually prevailed 4–2 in penalty shootouts, India had to overcome immense hardships beforehand. In the past, India most likely would have collapsed in such circumstances. On Sunday, though, they displayed a level of tactical skill not often associated with the Indian team at the sun-drenched Stade Yves-du-Manoir.
Along with being a key member of the defence, Rohidas also rushes forward during penalty corners, racing towards the drag-flicker to cut off his angles even if it means taking a hit. His suspension led to a number of tactical and staffing adjustments. India began the game cautiously, pressing the ball half-court and attempting to counter Britain’s close, forceful man-marking.
But two things transpired right after the red card. Playing unusually high up the pitch, Captain Harmanpreet Singh withdrew to deep defence. His normal centre midfield partner, Manpreet Singh, joined him in the backline. Fulton had to give up his playmaker in order to cover the gap in the back line.
“We practice different match situations and plan how we should play if someone gets a green or yellow card (leading to 2 or 5-minute suspensions). But this isn’t a common situation, to play almost three quarters with one man less,” Manpreet said. “It was unexpected. But we train to play with structures in case of one man down and in that, I had to fall back in defence to cover up.”
The next natural reaction was to score a goal. According to Fulton, that was essential in order for Britain to pursue the game and set up a defensive trap to wear down the opposition. “We needed something to defend so they’d come (to attack) and that would help our tactic. Then we needed to push it as far as possible,” Fulton said.
Four minutes after Rohidas was sent off, Harmanpreet’s goal satisfied that condition. India altered their shape at that very moment, realising they couldn’t launch an attack with one man short. As a result, the front line formed the initial line of defence by retreating far within their half. The defenders were within a high five of the goalie, while the midfielders, who were a few steps behind them, formed a second layer. Sreejesh, the goalie, marshalled the men in front of him during his final international competition.
Imagine how a 4-3-2 system team would set up on the full pitch. India handled the entire situation expertly in their defensive third. The three layers shielded the middle sections of the field and prevented direct passes to the goal. “We wanted to ensure that we did not allow them to play balls from the central areas. It was okay if they entered from the side because the worst that would happen was conceding a penalty corner. But we had faith in Sreejesh; he is one of the best goalkeepers,” vice-captain Hardik Singh said.
There are plans on paper and then there’s execution of those plans. In the past, India’s players have been notorious for throwing well-thought-out plans out of the window at the first sign of stress. And there couldn’t have been more pressure on them than Sunday when an Olympic semifinal berth was at stake.
There was no precedent, either. Never in the Olympics has a team been reduced to 10 men. To progress to the last four, India had to improvise their plan and execute it to perfection. For once, they did. “We dug deep, Sree was immense. But when you talk about the defence, it’s also about showing love for your teammate by covering him and helping him,” Fulton said.
If Britain got behind Lalit Upadhyay and Gurjant Singh, they would run into Vivek Sagar Prasad and Raj Kumar Pal. If they beat them, there would be Sumeet and Sanjay. Standing like a rock at the back, behind all of them, was Sreejesh. This one time when Sreejesh was beaten, Manpreet and Jarmanpreet Singh were there to stop the ball from going in.
This wasn’t blind defending, there was a structure and method to it. “It wasn’t pretty, it’s never going to be pretty with 10 men,” Fulton admitted. But it worked. Britain forayed into India’s circle 24 times. They scored just once. They had nine penalty corners. Each time, they were thwarted.
There were times when it looked like India would not be able to last physically and mentally in the searing heat of Paris. Especially when the clock ticked down in the final quarter. “It felt to us that the clock was ticking in slow motion. Even one second felt like 10,” Hardik said, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. “But that’s life, whenever adversity hits you, you have to come back stronger. But today, we played for those who believe ki hockey India ki hai (hockey’s home is India).
By the end of the 60-minute grind, the players were battered, bruised. Fulton, his voice gone hoarse, reiterated the words said in the Alps: “When shit happens, get together.”
The drama-filled India match was followed by another crazy quarterfinal. World No 1 Belgium were dramatically knocked out by Spain, ranked 8th in the world. Spain had a 3-1 lead with 3 minutes to go, Belgium then scored their 2nd of the match to make it a dramatic finish. It didn’t stop there, though. Belgium made a circle entry as the timer was running down, but no penalty corner was awarded. Spain began to celebrate their victory. Belgium then mobbed the referee and demanded a PC since, only a minute before, they had burned their review. Then, as is customary in hockey, the far-side official approached the near-side umpire and instructed him to deliver a PC. Spain had to compose themselves in order to stop the legendary Hendrickx from scoring a penalty corner after he had recently scored. However, the ball left the circle after the Spanish custodian made the save. And this time, for genuine, Spain was able to celebrate once more.
