The Indian senior men’s hockey team’s defence has been the ‘biggest talking point’ of the Rio Olympics so far. The way the Blueshirts have dealt with penalty corners and wriggled the ball ‘out of danger’ in the face of opposition raids must have surely won the admiration of hockey fans. The likes of Surender, Rupinder, Raghunath, Kothajit and Harmanpreet have really stuck it out despite all the challenges loaded against them.
Of course, the only jarring note was the Christopher Ruhr’s goal with three seconds remaining for the final whistle during the India-Germany match, which denied the Blueshirts a famous 1-1 draw against Germany.
And one man, whose defensive prowess was well known in his heydays, Pargat Singh in indeed chuffed to see the PR Sreejesh-captained side rise to the occasion. “Our defence has been outstanding – I’m really happy to see our team perform so well,” says the three-time former Olympian.
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Pargat, who played in the 1998 Seoul Olympic, 1992 Barcelona Olympic, and 1996 Atlanta Olympic, believes India’s performance augurs well for the future.
“I saw the entire match against the Netherlands. The Indian team held possession confidently without really getting intimidated by the reputation of top-notch sides like Germany or the Dutch. It was a great sight to see India give these teams a run for their money. I just get the feeling that India is fast bridging the gap with the world’s top teams. We are not longer losing by a margin of three or four goals, which shows the swift progress India is making,” he heaps praise on the national team.
The former Indian captain feels, who is also Hockey Punjab President, feels that not much can be predicted in the knockout phase of the Olympic hockey competition. “Such is the nature of modern hockey that any team can win on any given day – reputations or rankings don’t matter,” quips Pargat, who did paint a concern area over the lack of field goals.
“Lack of field goals should be an area to ponder, but I think the likes of Sunil, Akashdeep, Ramandeep and Nikkin will work on their game and hopefully deliver in the coming matches,” he signs off.
Pargat’s words would be a huge encouragement for the Indian men’s hockey team ahead of the quarterfinal clash against Belgium on Sunday. The Red Lions would be a tough nut to crack for sure – India had lost to them by a solitary goal in the semifinal of the 2015 Hockey World League Final Round in Raipur.
