‘We’re in Paris to offer India its ninth Olympic hockey gold’: Captain Harmanpreet guarantees the nation | Paris Olympics 2024 Information

Each time adrenaline gushes via Harmanpreet’s forearms to ship these drag-flicks whizzing previous defenders and convey the opponent put up crashing down in Paris, thoughts goes again to the January night of 2023 in Bhubaneswar. A dejected India skipper, carrying the nation’s hopes on his penalty-corner abilities, appeared clueless. The ball virtually refused to roll up his stick on these flicks.
The New Zealanders despatched India out of the World Cup.It was not even the quarterfinal. Dream dusted within the crossovers, a determined D-top flick by Harmanpreet throughout one-on-one shootout towards the Kiwi custodian outlined the event for India and its skipper.Head hung in disappointment, Harmanpreet dragged himself to the obligatory press convention together with Graham Reid, who virtually knew it was his final assembly with the media because the India coach.
It was a few 12 months and half to go for the Paris Olympics then. Hockey India introduced in a brand new coach in Craig Fulton, and his partnership with Harmanpreet because the staff’s think-tank has not simply received India titles, together with the Asian Video games gold, but additionally noticed Harmanpreet returning along with his deadly short-corner abilities which have taken India to the quarterfinals of the Paris Video games.
With six objectives in 5 matches, Harmanpreet is taking part in like Rocky Balboa returning to the ring.

India’s two barely nervous opening matches have been salvaged by Harmanpreet’s last-minute objectives, leading to a 3-2 win over New Zealand and a 1-1 draw towards the 2016 Olympic champions Argentina. The clear sheet within the 2-0 win over Eire was comforting, however the true check on the pool stage was all the time going to be defending Olympic champions Belgium and nemesis Australia.
With a spot within the quarterfinals sealed earlier than the 2 massive video games, India gave the Belgians a run for his or her cash earlier than dropping 1-2. However the story of the males’s hockey competitors to date was written within the match towards Australia.
After 52 years, India lastly managed to bell the cat and beat the Aussies in an Olympic match — the final occasion being a 3-1 win on the Munich Video games in 1972.

Harmanpreet’s stick continued to fireside, scoring two objectives in India’s 3-2 win, taking the tally of his worldwide objectives to 190 in 224 matches.
Reverse to the development towards the Aussies through the years, it was India who led 2-0 at half-time, displaying the promise that the staff needs to ship on in Paris.
“That is what we’re in search of — to offer India its ninth (hockey) gold. We’re giving (it our) every little thing to win that gold medal,” Harmanpreet instructed FIH (Worldwide Hockey Federation) after the win over Australia.
“However the primary event is beginning now. So the quarterfinals, the semifinals, these matches are very essential. So we’re simply seeking to give our greatest,” stated the two-time FIH Males’s Participant of the Yr.

Having completed second in Pool B with 10 factors, India will tackle Pool A’s third-placed staff, Nice Britain. The match is scheduled for 1:30 pm IST on August 4.
Decoding the historic win over Australia, Harmanpreet stated: “We began (the Paris Olympics by) successful, and we determined we have been going to complete with a successful match. We put them beneath strain and the strain was so good from the frontline. And our motto was to attain the primary objective. So we did it and I believe after that we managed very properly. As a result of everyone is aware of that the Australians come full press, so the positioning and scanning was good at this time, the way in which we managed the ball.”
The true event, although, begins with the knockouts, the place the dropping staff packs its baggage to go residence. And Harmanpreet summed it up in few and exact phrases.
“There isn’t any room to make errors.”