Aaditya Narayan
Aug 2, 2024, 07:50 PM
India beat Australia 3-2 at the Paris Olympics to finish second in Pool B and give themselves a huge boost ahead of the quarterfinals, to be held on Sunday. While the result itself is impressive, equally significant and heartening was the manner in which they won: Through control, the coach Jamie's Fulton's preferred style of play.
This Indian team has been wounded by the last two big tournament games against Australia - a 7-0 loss at the Commonwealth Games and 7-1 at the Tokyo Olympics. This win will go a long way towards healing some of those scars. The mental block seems to have finally been overcome as well.
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The numbers point to how significant this win is: Before today, India hadn't beaten Australia in their last 8 matches. Their last win came in March 2023, a 5-4 win in a Pro League match at Rourkela. In 2024, India had lost 6 out of 7 matches to the Aussies, drawing the other one.
But there was one stat of even greater significance: this was also the Indian men's first win against Australia at the Olympics since a 3-1 win at the Munich Olympics in 1972, their first win in the turf era.
The Fulton style delivers a win of significance
Every question thrown at this Indian team in their first two games at these Olympics was answered emphatically: India scored field goals, India played four quarters at the highest intensity, they found solutions with different players stepping up at various points throughout the game.
This was coach Craig Fulton's team fully buying into his plan, his buzzword -- control. Arguably, it was their most significant win under him. India may have conceded chances, but that's how good Australia are. India did well to restrict them and control them as much as they did.
Hardik Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad brought that in the midfield. Both of them are now experienced enough in international hockey to be dictating games like this, and they showed it. Hardik was sensational especially on the ball. When India were under pressure, he found a pass or a dribble out of that. When Australia were putting India under pressure, Vivek made a few immense interventions to keep the defence unscathed.
Jarmanpreet Singh down the right was a constant engine, his traps down the right wing were crucial to the game plan. The number of aerial cross-field passes that went to the right wing meant that Jarmanpreet's technique always had to be on point, and he ensured that.
Sreejesh the saviour
India played superbly throughout, but when all else failed, there was PR Sreejesh. It's one of the most comforting sights in Indian sport to see Sreejesh in goal, and as he has done so often throughout his career he proved why in this game.
He made six sensational saves in the first three quarters - three of them in the first quarter alone. The reflexes, the ability to spring full-stretch to either side, the ability to read the opposition attackers - Sreejesh just showed off his entire skillset as a goalkeeper.
The very last play of the game was also defined by Sreejesh. Much like that bronze medal match in Tokyo, where he made a clutch save with five seconds on the clock, he made a superb double save with three seconds left on the clock in this one.
First there was a shot from Eddie Ockenden and then a follow-up from Tom Craig, but Sreejesh saved the first and then went and smothered the second shot as well. He wasn't letting anything get past him. After his team had done all the hard graft to win the lead, he wasn't going to let that effort go in vain in those last seconds.
Abhishek steps up again; Harmanpreet remains a banker
Just as he did after the game against Belgium, captain Harmanpreet Singh once again hailed young forward Abhishek as one of the best in the world. It is well-deserved praise for a young man who has found his best hockey at just the right moment at these Olympics for India.
Just like against Belgium, Abhishek unleashed a fierce strike from the edge of the circle that whizzed past Andrew Charter in the Australia goal before he could even move.
While Abhishek has now scored two field goals at this competition, Harmanpreet Singh also stepped up from penalty corners. He scored off one, forced a stunning save from Charter off another, and then won a penalty stroke with a third. He then went on to score that penalty stroke.
Harmanpreet has now scored six goals at these Olympics so far, and will look to be in similar form as the knockout stages dawn on this Indian team.
"Harmanpreet se kabhi goal nahi hote, team se hi hote hain [Harmanpreet doesn't score any goal, it's the team that always does]," the Indian captain said.
India will hope to have three more games at these Olympics, where the team scores more goals. It might have come belatedly, but the Indian men's hockey team are now well and truly alive and kicking at these Olympics.
