Consecutive Olympic medals, Sreejesh, HIL make headlines

New Delhi: Back-to-back Olympic medals after a hiatus of 50 years and the revival of the much-awaited HIL lit up the year for Indian hockey which also saw one of its biggest stars walk into sunset after a glorious career.

With their third-place finish in the Paris Olympics this summer, the Harmanpreet Singh-led men’s team proved that the historic bronze in the Tokyo Games three years ago was not a flash in the pan.

The medal ensured the legendary PR Sreejesh, one of the team’s biggest pillars for nearly two decades, got the send-off he deserved after he decided to retire from the sport. That he is now associated with the junior teams bodes well for Indian hockey as it seeks more success in the coming times.

Before Tokyo and Paris, the last time the Indian hockey team won successive Olympic medals was at 1968 Mexico City and 1972 Munich Games. Under chief coach Craig Fulton, the Indians had to alter their playing style, concentrating more on defence and relying on counters to build fast-paced attacks, and the players embraced the approach before the big event came calling.

The Indians played fearless hockey throughout the Games and the win against Great Britain in the quarterfinals, with 10 men, was a reflection of the players’ mental toughness. India played with a man less for nearly 43 minutes and eventually won the match in shoot-out thanks to resolute defending and PR Sreejesh’s brilliance under the bar to progress to a second straight Olympic semifinals. Many stars sparkled and some new ones emerged in the year gone by but none can come close to what old warhorse Harmanpreet and Sreejesh did for the team.