Asiad gold gives belief for Paris success

IT is difficult to express in words how proud I am of the team’s achievement. It is always special to fulfil your goals, and winning the gold medal at the Asian Games was a big target for us.

A lot of planning and hard work went into it. Even before the tournament, every player was in a great mental space . We wanted to play our best hockey, and I am very happy that we were able to do that.

Personally, it is a special win for me. It is my biggest title as a captain. For sure, it will remain one of the most memorable tournaments of my career. It was an honour to lead this group of players, and to see the team perform so well under pressure. For me and others who were part of the bronze-winning team at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, this victory is especially satisfying. Last time, we entered the semifinals with an all-win record but suffered an agonising defeat in the shootout.

This year, we were mindful of that; in the team meetings, we had discussions about it. The players from the 2018 team kept reminding everyone that even if we have easy matches in the league stage, we should be mentally prepared for the semifinals. The pressure in the knockout matches is completely different. So we wanted to eliminate that factor by keeping our intensity up from the first match. That is something we are really proud of as a team.

Another motivating factor for us was the Paris Olympics qualification. Last time, we missed the direct berth. We had to go through a difficult period filled with uncertainty and anxiety, not knowing which team we would face in the qualifying process. Until you qualify, the thought never leaves your mind; and it is only after sealing that berth that you truly start preparing for the Olympics with a clear head. Having gone through that experience, we were keen to win gold and qualify for the 2024 Games. Now we have 10 months to prepare for the big event. Every match or tournament we play now will be part of our preparations for the Olympics.

The way we performed at the Asian Games, I feel we are already on our way to achieving more milestones in Paris. After winning the Asian Champions Trophy title, our focus was on finding a balance in the way we score goals. We wanted to score as many field goals as we got from penalty corners. We were able to achieve that in Hangzhou, which is a sign that we are progressing well under the new coach.

A major lesson from the Asian Games would be to become more consistent in defence. In the semifinal against South Korea, we were leading comfortably at one point, but we conceded goals and that put unnecessary pressure on us. That is something we need to work on — to stay mentally alert even when we are leading by two or three goals. We were much better in the final against Japan.

We have ample time to work on our game till Paris; and in the Pro League, we will get to play against top teams, which will also be at the Olympics.

The Asian Games victory was also crucial because it built immense confidence in the team. The understanding between the players, how we built our attacks, how we scored goals freely and how we defended well in pressure situations — it was a brilliant team performance. It gives us the belief that if we play our best hockey, we can win gold at the Paris Olympics.

— The writer is captain of the Indian hockey team

(As told to Indervir Grewal)