India face Spain in the bronze medal match in men's hockey at the Paris Olympics on Thursday evening.
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Craig Fulton's team lost to Germany 3-2 in the semifinal on Tuesday evening after a valiant, fighting display. However, they have to now regroup after that loss quickly as they now have a chance to win medals at consecutive Olympics and repeat their bronze-winning achievement from Tokyo.
When is the match?
Thursday, August 8, at 5:30 PM IST.
The Big Picture
The challenge for Fulton is to pick his players up and get them to be mentally tuned in for what is another big match. Losing a semifinal, and in the manner that India did, would've been a blow.
But this team is full of players who have had this experience three years ago. India were outplayed by Belgium in that semifinal in Tokyo, but came back two days later with an outstanding performance against Germany to win their first hockey medal at the Olympics since 1980.
However, the emotion here is completely different to what it was in Tokyo. The relief of being in contentions for a medal on the last day at Tokyo has been replaced by some sense of regret at not being in the ultimate clash for gold. And there comes the challenge for Fulton.
"Nothing is easy, this is the Olympics, nothing is handed to you. We'll recover, prepare and come back for the next match," Fulton said after the loss to Germany.
Spain present a unique challenge to India, because so far in Paris, one hasn't been sure about which Spain will turn up on any given day. The side that has beaten Germany and Belgium already, or the one that was soundly beaten 4-0 by Great Britain in the group stage and then by scoreline by the Netherlands in the semifinal?
In addition, India will also have to handle the pressure of expectation. They weren't really favourites in the semifinal against world champions Germany. But they will go into this one as clear favourites, despite Spain's giant-killing acts in Paris.
India will be boosted by the return of Amit Rohidas, who has served a one-match suspension following his red card in the quarterfinal against Great Britain. He only adds to the strength of a squad which matched the world champions in every aspect of the game for most part of their semifinal.
Key Players
For India, Hardik Singh will once again be the man around which all their good aspects revolve. Hardik had a bit of a mixed semifinal. He was outstanding in the first half, dribbling forward with ease, finding some great passes, and controlling the game. But he really couldn't put his stamp on the game in the second half, and made some really basic errors with his trapping and passing as well.
Marc Reyne is Spain's joint-top scorer at these Olympics, alongside Jose Basterra. Both Reyne and Marc Miralles are excellent players in the frontline for Spain and will present a big test to an Indian defence that couldn't quite withstand the pressure put on them in the fourth quarter by Germany in the semifinal.
Stats
Head-to-head: In the last ten matches between the two sides, India have won five, Spain have won three, and there have been two draws.
India will take hope from their last two matches in big tournaments against Spain. They won 3-0 in the group stage at the Tokyo Olympics, and then beat them 2-0 in Rourkela in their opening match of the World Cup last year.
With 8 goals, Harmanpreet Singh is the top-scorer at these Olympics. He is likely to finish there as well, as he's already scored at least three goals more than any other player still active at the Games.
If India win this match, it will be their 13th medal in hockey at the Olympics, and their fourth bronze. Fulton, Harmanpreet and the team will be hoping that it is a lucky 13 on Thursday evening.