Bhubaneswar: Akashdeep Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh scored a brace each as India men’s hockey team thumped Russia 7-1 in the final leg to qualify for the next year’s Tokyo Olympics on an 11-3 aggregate here at the Kalinga stadium, Saturday.
In the process, India thus made their 21st entry into the global event. India’s only blackout was in 2008 when the team failed to board the Beijing flight. While India’s last medal came in the form of a gold in 1980 Olympics, after that the country has never been able to win a medal at the Olympics, but one can hope India could revive its lost glory in Tokyo next year.
It is also to be noted that, six members — Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh, PR Sreejesh, SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh — of the squad who participated in the 2016 Brazil Olympic Games played in this match too.
Taking a note of their wayward performance in the first leg Saturday, India were a much-improved side in the first half despite a 25th second stunning effort from Russia’s Alexey Sobolevskiy. While the World No.5 side looked for an equaliser, creating more pressure on the opposition, Russia too were dangerous with occasional counter attacks. Thanks to some brilliant work in the defence, India managed to put those away.
The urgency from the Graham Reid-coached side worked wonders as Lalit Upadhyay’s stick deflection off a pass from young Hardik Singh gave India the equaliser. And in no other greater way the Varanasi born 25-year-old could have celebrated his 100th international cap!
Backed by a full house, it was no looking back for the eight-time Olympic champions thereon as the Manpreet Singh-led side virtually pocketed the match in the first half itself with two brilliant strikes from Akashdeep Singh in the 23rd and 29th minute gave them the upper hand. The statistics too spoke of India’s dominance as they had eight shots on goal and 17 circle penetrations compared Russia’s one and five in first 30 minutes.
While the third quarter looked blur as none of the teams were able to find the back of the net, pint-sized Nilakanta Sharma once again brought the crowd on their feet in the 47th minute via a brilliant crosshand that found the top right corner of the net. Senior pro Rupinder Pal added the fifth and sixth – both from penalty corners – before local lad Amit Rohidas nailed the final coffin to conclude India’s rout.
Meanwhile, Reid seemed to be a relived man, but the Australian admitted that they still have a lot more work to do. “I am a relieved man now. We have qualified for the Olympics and that’s what matters. We start our national camp November 18 here and will sit with the boys to point out our flaws and work on them,” said Reid after the match.
Rohidas said, “I feel special to have contributed to the team’s qualification. This is my ground, I have played here so many times and with so much support from the crowd it’s really a special moment for all the boys. I didn’t get a chance in the first match but got one in this game and to score a goal is really really special.”
“It’s a great day for India hockey as both men and women have qualified for the Olympics. I congratulate them too and hope we will be able to bring medals for the country.”
Roll of honours
Men: Best team goal celebration: Russia; Fair Play: Russia; Fan’s choice award: Harmanpreet Singh; Player of the tournament: SV Sunil; Women: Best team goal celebration: India; Fair Play: USA; Fan’s choice award: Gurjit Kaur; Player of the tournament: Gurjit Kaur
Koushik Paul
