In the second minute of their quarter-final match against Australia, only a narrow goal post kept India from going down 1-0 early. It earned some awkward grimaces from the team in green and gold, who had entered the stadium with a three-time champion, top seed and a flawless 5-0 record in the group stage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. .
India had just got lucky, they must have thought.
Seven minutes later, under constant pressure, an unmarked Rani Rampal deflected a ball from Vandana Katariya towards goal. This time, it was the Australian goalpost that prevented India from going up. India eventually took the lead in the 22nd minute via a drag-flick from Gurjit Kaur and held on for the remainder of the match in what was possibly the greatest moment in Indian women's hockey – making it to the semi-finals for the first time in its history. , and two shots at an Olympic medal.
Any suggestion that fate saw India is wrong. It may have been a side that didn't even qualify for the London Olympics, didn't win a game in Rio, and was on the verge of losing three straight games in the group stage, but when it mattered most, they got it right. set up the game.
Former India coach Neil Hoggood says, "I'm not really sure whether the ball went (in the first shot from Australia) if it would have made any difference in the match." Indian team participating in Rio. "It doesn't matter. Australia was just making mistakes, they were making passes from the front or the back, not the person. And a lot of that is because of the pressure put on them. Australia's skilled man players deal with it. Were not able to," Hogood says.
Australia never managed to put constant pressure on India. "There were three, four, or maybe five passes and then there was pressure from the Indians," Hogood says. This meant that unlike Sunday's men's quarterfinal match against Great Britain, where the team had to put up a tough defense in the final quarter, India continued to release the pressure. Former player and commentator Viren Rasquinha says, "The game against the UK, now that was the pressure. This time there was breathing space. I never expected that we would walk shoulder to shoulder with the Australians for 60 minutes."
This completely unexpected change in pressure was also witnessed by the previous hockey coach Harendra Singh. "The girls had different body language. They started putting pressure on Australia right from the start. They showed no fear. They didn't give any space in midfield. And they were either tackled or intercepted with every other pass. A lot of credit goes to (India coach Sjoerd) Marijne. He didn't allow Australia to dictate terms. When any team puts pressure on Australia, they don't know how to react. It's a smart move which was well implemented today,” he says. Harendra.
It's one thing to go side-by-side with the Australians, but it's an entirely different thing to do it successfully without bleeding – 13 of which were made by Australia in the group stages. Harendra says the Indians were able to do this because they now have a high level of fitness. "They didn't allow Australia to dictate the pace of the match, they had a high rate of passing, receiving and conversion to goals. It's easy to do that only when the team is fit. And these two teams are the best in the world." Are fit. If you are fit, you are not afraid to lose the ball. Because you know you can retrieve the ball. If you have more oxygen in your blood, you have a better chance of making the right decision If you are unfit, there are more chances that you will make the wrong decision. The Indian team has been working on its fitness level for the last eight years. It showed today. When Wayne Lombard (Physical Conditioning Specialist) with the Indian team Started working out, the team would have scores of 17 in the yo-yo test. Now they have scores of 23," says Harendra.
Hogood says the fact that India not only absorbed the pressure but bounced back was also due to their mental conditioning. "It's not about how Australia played, it was about what India did to Australia. I think it's the mental thing, where India has improved. I think I did against Ireland. Saw the difference in the game, where India scored in the last two minutes. Had they drawn that match, they would have been out. And they scored. It was their belief in what they were doing. They did the team. It was the biggest turning point of the tournament for me, and not personally. It was the biggest turning point of the tournament," says Hogood. .
The defensive integrity that the Indian team possessed was actually due to the fact that it wasn't just the defenders who did the whole innings. Says Rasquinha, "The kind of tracking the forward ball was doing was phenomenal. His one-on-one tackle was probably the best I've seen."
It was difficult to find a weak link in the entire squad. "All the girls who don't usually get a lot of attention - Nikki Pradhan, Monica, Gracedeep Ekka - they had a perfect game. I think it was as close as possible to a perfect game. It wasn't a lucky result." . It was innocent. India deserved to win," says Rasquinha.
Can they do another? Hogood thinks they can. “They are playing completely fearless because they have nothing to lose. I was texting Sjoerd and I know he was looking forward to coming home now, but he has to stay in the village for four more days. Will happen! India are now at a point where they have nothing to lose. What were their hopes? They had hoped to make the quarter finals and then see what happens. This is something where you dare to dream And this morning, they'll just be dreaming. There's no pressure on them to go ahead. They can just go and play. That's what I'm looking forward to," Hogood says.