14 days to Tokyo Olympics 2020: MM Somaya breaks down India’s hockey prowess in 1980 Olympics

The Indian hockey team has a glorious past, but its Olympic performance has been dismal since 1980. The gold at the Moscow Olympics 1980 was India's last Olympic medal in hockey.

For the next 45 years, the Indian team consistently ended up on the wrong side of expectations. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Manpreet Singh and team will hope to rewrite history.

But what was so special and easy at the 1980 Olympics that India emerged supreme in hockey?

Read: Indian Men's hockey team at Tokyo Olympics 2020: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats

Former India captain MM Somaya breaks it down. Playing under coach Balkrishan Singh and a good captain in Vasudevan Baskaran, India’s prowess was in the forward line, said the former midfielder.

"We had a very attacking forward line at the 1980 Olympics. We played with five forwards and most of our strategy was attack oriented. We depended on our five forwards to put pressure on the opposition and that was the main strength of the team. Our strategy of playing an all-out attacking game really helped us in the tournament and eventually win the final against Spain 4-3," Somaya told Hockey India.

Somaya said the players had a great sense of self-belief that propelled India to win gold. Even when they were behind in the scoreline, the team always picked themselves up and counter-attacked their way back into the game.

In a major decision yesterday, the IOC has made "Alternate Athletes" available for each match because of the Covid-19 situation.This flexibility means that the reserve players in both the teams might get a chance to play at #Tokyo2020 too.Know more. 👇https://t.co/aAl4nNfxFL

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As Somaya explained, the Indian team strategized well going into the Olympics. Once India got the better of the higher ranked and stronger teams, they believed they could go the distance.

“Spain and Soviet Union were among the strongest sides in the 1980 Olympics. We had our strategies in place for Spain and the Soviet Union, however, Poland also emerged as one of the strong teams during the tournament. They would defend for long spells and then suddenly counterattack. So, we drew against Poland and Spain in the Pool matches. They were tough matches for us. The Europeans were ultra-defensive. In the end when we had to play our final Pool match against Soviet Union, we had to win to qualify for the Final. When we won the match against Soviet Union, we started believing that we could clinch the Gold. Even in the Pool match against Poland we were trailing 1-2 and we managed to equalize in the last few moments of the match. Those two matches gave us the belief we can come back from any situation even if things are down,” Somaya explained.

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Hockey team was well-prepared

Preparation is key ahead of any big tournament and the Olympics is no exception. At the 1980 Olympics, India had to prepare for alien conditions – including playing on AstroTurf.

Somaya, who made his India debut at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, threw light on how India prepared for the fast AstroTurf pitches. Apparently, the team practiced on gravel hockey pitches before the Olympics.

"We didn't have AstroTurf hockey pitches in India at the time. So, I had never played on AstroTurf before the Moscow Olympics. We trained on a gravel hockey ground in Bangalore a few days before the tournament which helped me to get used to a faster surface. The game on AstoTurf is much faster compared to the game played on grass. The practice sessions on the gravel pitch helped some of us get a sense of the AstroTurf pitches at the Olympics," he said.

After the horror of the 2008 Olympics, the Indian men's hockey team did not find any success in 2012 and 2016. However, Somaya has good expectations for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

"I am positive about both the men and women’s chances in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. They have been in good form recently. The teams are physically fit and a talented bunch of players. I have great expectations from the teams. I am very hopeful that we will come back with a Medal this time. I wish the Indian teams all the luck and I will be cheering for them," the former Indian skipper concluded.