Paris Olympics: Two Harmanpreet bullets take India to the podium again | Hockey News

Harry Potter had his wand. Craig Fulton has Harmanpreet Singh.Before penalty corners, India’s coach would whisper something in the ear of his captain, who would then sprint to the top of the Spanish ‘D’. From there, he’d wield his stick in a semi-circular motion to find a hole in the defence and slot the ball into the goal — twice in three minutes.
Harmanpreet’s twin strikes, which made him the Paris Olympics’ highest scorer with 10 goals, helped India script a confident comeback to beat Spain 2-1 and record their second-straight podium finish at the Olympics.

Back-to-back medal victories secured the Indian Hockey team in the Olympics! 🥉😍
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The bronze — won after being made to work very hard under a harsh Parisian sun a resilient Spanish side that defended tight and kept coming at them — triggered wild scenes on the pitch.
Defender Sumit, who blocked everything that came down the left flank, leapt in the air and punched the air. As a young hockey player, the 27-year-old dreamt of sitting on an airplane. But he helped his family washing utensils at a dhaba in Murthal, Haryana. He never gave up and made himself a promise: his first flight would be when he travels to play for India. Domestically, his teammates would fly to different cities; Sumit spent nights on a train. His maiden flight came in 2014. Since then, his career has only soared.
Not too far from him, Raj Kumar Pal wandered aimlessly. A newcomer in the team, the midfielder — who lost his father at a young age and was given shelter a hockey enthusiast who started a academy in Karampur, a nondescript village in Uttar Pradesh with little hockey hory — did not know how to react after winning the medal.
He charged towards forward Sukhjeet Singh, another first-time medall. Sukhjeet ran from one end of the field to the other himself, punching the air and shouting something incoherent. Six years ago, he couldn’t even stand on his feet: an injury had led to complications that left his right side paralysed.

INDIA WIN THE BRONZE MEDAL IN HOCKEY AT #Paris2024! 🏑 🥉
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But in unison, they all sprinted towards PR Sreejesh and made a mountain on top of him.
As a young man in Kerala, a state with no hockey tradition, Sreejesh turned to the sport only because it was “easy to get into the state team”, which would then fetch him 60 marks in board exams under a state policy. Now, 36, the goalkeeper retired on Thursday with a medal around his neck and as a legend of the sport.
As always, he had the last — and loudest — say in the match. With a minute and 8 seconds remaining, Spain captain Marc Miralles unleashed a fierce drag-flick. Casually, Sreejesh outstretched his right leg and padded the ball away. The intervention prevented a late Spanish equaliser and sealed the win.
Three years ago, he had made a similar last-ditch save that ensured India’s return to the podium. If the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics stirred up emotions, the podium finish in Paris will be a sign of consolidation, which gives the right impetus for the sport to take the next big stride.
Seen purely in terms of where they have finished, the back-to-back third places might suggest stagnation to a casual observer; or give a sense that they have at least held on to what they had.
In reality, this medal is a feat of bronze in this ultra-competitive environment of international hockey. Men’s hockey is enjoying its golden era, where any of the top six or seven teams could have finished on top of the podium in Paris. The fact that neither of the finals from the previous Olympics even made it to the top four underlines how tough it is to stay on top in this ultra-competitive environment.

Harmanpreet Singh reignites the hopes for victory as India takes the lead! 🏑 🥉#Cheer4Bharat & watch 🇮🇳🆚🇪🇸, LIVE NOW on #Sports18 & stream for FREE on #JioCinema 👈 #OlympicsonJioCinema #OlympicsonSports18 #Olympics #JioCinemaSports #Hockey pic.twitter.com/xaio1BCoGz
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A force to reckon with
For India to feature on the podium does many things. It dismisses the notion that the Tokyo bronze was aided, no matter how marginally, the strange times of the pandemic when all teams came under-cooked. It lends more credence to India as a serious force in world hockey; the ambitions of the team where the players did not look completely satisfied a bronze: In Tokyo, the players teared up after winning the bronze; here, the semifinal loss left them shattered.
The bronze here was also a reward for overcoming all types of adversities. When the team did not even make it to the quarterfinals of a World Cup on home soil last year, it felt like Tokyo was a false dawn.
Then came coach Fulton with his revolutionary ideas, infusing a stale India with new, radical playing styles. He brought with him a sports psycholog, Paddy Upton, who in an earlier assignment, had helped the Indian cricket team to World Cup glory in 2011.
Together, they had a vision for a Paris podium place that the outside world could never clearly see. It got more and more blurred as India struggled to win coming into the Olympics. But once here, they showed a different — previously unseen — version of themselves; playing with tactical nous and flexibility not commonly associated with Indian hockey. Along with that, Fulton also showed the chaotic world of Indian hockey how to stay calm.

Sarpanch sahab duty par hai 🫡 #HarmanpreetSingh scores the equalizer at the stroke of half-time👏#Cheer4Bharat & watch 🇮🇳🆚🇪🇸, LIVE NOW on #Sports18 & stream for FREE on #JioCinema 👈 #OlympicsonJioCinema #OlympicsonSports18 #Olympics #JioCinemaSports #Hockey pic.twitter.com/BoZLqedgZH
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That, eventually, was what got them over the line against Spain. The surprise semifinals took the lead in the 18th minute through Miralles. Then, they packed their defence and brilliantly guarded their goal to not allow India any clear shot at goal.
But Harmanpreet and his side did not panic. They kept chipping away at the Spanish defence, controlling the ball and their emotions. And they were rewarded for their patience — the two Harmanpreet goals in the 30th and 33rd minutes.
A one-goal lead might not have been enough for the Indian teams of the past to hold on to. But Fulton’s mantra of ‘defending to win’ never felt truer. Calmly, India swept away any signs of danger when the Spanish attackers raided India’s half. And on the few occasions the opposition did get behind India’s defence, they stumbled into Sreejesh.

The keeper of India’s fortunes made his Olympic debut in 2012 when India finished 12th among 12 teams in London. His magic has fetched India two medals in two Olympics — after none in the previous 10.
In an old, horic suburb of Paris, the fans sang his name, the players bowed to him as curtains drew on the career of an Indian legend, with two Olympic medals around his neck.