Paris Olympics: Harmanpreet’s men make it a memorable last dance for Sreejesh

If Paris Olympics was being billed as the last dance for P.R. Sreejesh, the rock under India’s bar, it turned out to be a memorable one and much more. Harmanpreet Singh & Co made it a Parisian affair to remember to see off Spain 2-1 for their back-to-back bronze medals after Tokyo, a feat which came for Indian hockey after 52 long years.

For at least two generations of Indian sports fans who have been bred on stories of past glory but countless so-near-yet-so-far things since the 1980 Olympics, it finally seems to be a time for redemption. The consistency and character which India showed throughout the campaign, which included a miraculous shootout victory against Great Britain in the quarter-finals but a semi-final heartbreak against Germany, reflected the new-found character of this team.

At the beginning of the tournament, Harmanpreet announced that they were going to Paris to earn that ninth Olympic gold medal for India. It didn’t happen alright and the inspirational captain, the highest scorer of the tournament with 10 goals, was as humble as ever in their moment of triumph. ‘’We are sorry that we couldn’t win the gold. We tried our best but it didn’t happen,’’ Harmanpreet told the broadcasters, before adding: ‘’We hope to win more medals for you, just continue to give us the love which we did.’’

There were so many freeze frames after the tense encounter – which reminded the fans of another edge-of-the-seat thriller against Germany in Tokyo three years back. ‘’The bronze at the Tokyo Olympics gave us the confidence that we could win medals on the big stage again,’’ said the self-effacing Sreejesh, whose form was simply unreal in the big games of the tournament. The most endearing moment perhaps came when Harmanpreet lifted Sreejesh on his shoulders after the bronze, after which the Kerala man did his customary routine of jumping atop the bar again.

The bonding and mutual respect between this lot was never more visible than when Manpreet Singh, captain of India’s bronze medallist team in Tokyo, said without batting an eyelid that the team would like to dedicate this triumph to Sreejesh. Both players, incidentally, were appearing in their fourth Olympics but Manpreet played the quintessential teamman as his illustrious teammate walked into the sunset.

India had gone into the match with a favourable head-to-head record of 7-3 against Spain in the Games but such a piece of statistic counts for little in a high-pressure match like this. It began on an ominous note when Spanish skipper Marc Miralles opened the scoring with 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Harmanpreet, as so many times during the competition, netted the equaliser seconds before the half-time hooter.

Leading India from the front, the leader of defence doubled his tally with a sensational brace in the third quarter. Veteran Sreejesh then made a stunning save in the final quarter to seal India's 2-1 win over Spain.