India's hockey bronze in Paris, their second successive at the Olympics, was essentially a story of two halves: A shaky, if successful, start until they found their rhythm and hit upon the perfect strategy to play to their strengths.
It wasn't by accident: it involved tweaks and changes and culminated in the bronze medal. A remarkable turnaround, fuelled by not one or two players but the entire squad and the head coach Craig Fulton, who pushed them to be slightly more attacking and a little bit more clinical in their approach.
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The Indian hockey team didn't play well in their Paris 2024 opener against New Zealand but got the victory in the end thanks to captain Harmanpreet Singh. The performance became worse in the second match against Argentina. They trailed for almost three quarters and once again had to wait till the final minute to equalise. It was Harmanpreet again who scored the goal from a penalty corner.
The two matches told a 'flat and uninspiring story'. But it was not surprising considering their performance resembled their Pro League season, where they seventh among nine teams.
That's how July ended for India. By the end of August 2, in just four days, things had changed. By then, India had beaten Australia and finished second in their group to qualify for the quarterfinals. In the next one week, they won the bronze medal at Paris 2024.
The belief in the defeat
Despite not being at their best, the Indian team had beaten New Zealand and Ireland in their first two matches. The real test was against Belgium, the Olympic champions, and Tokyo silver medallists Australia. India lost 2-1 to Belgium but the change in their performance was first reflected in this match. Abhishek scored an outstanding field goal and India almost pulled off an equaliser in the final quarter, with Harmanpreet's penalty corner being blocked on the line by Florent van Aubel.
This match was not about the result, this was about how well the forwards combined and created chances. This was about making the Olympic champions very uncomfortable for most of the match. This was about India going into the knockout matches with confidence and optimism.
That performance was elevated against Australia. For the first time in 52 years, India had defeated the Aussies at the Olympics, a thoroughly deserving one. Abhishek was once again involved in a superb field goal with Harmanpreet scoring a brace.
India had travelled to Australia before the Olympics and lost the series 5-0. The forwards struggled to create chances and score. They also couldn't create many penalty corner opportunities for Harmanpreet, which was the case even at the Pro League away matches. This time at the Olympics, in an all-important tournament, not only did India create chances, they outscored the Aussies.
Fulton's 'defend to win' against the British
Next up, the quarterfinals against Great Britain. Going into this Olympics, India had a terrible recent record against their ultra-aggressive play, losing three times in four matches. And this time, they couldn't have had a worse start in terms of losing Amit Rohidas, their key defender to a red card.
The 'defend to win' is the mantra for India head coach Fulton. The main philosophy of Fulton has not been a full success yet but if there was one match that defined this, it was this one. The team, playing with 10 men for almost three quarters, put in a defensive masterclass to stop the British from taking advantage and later clinched the match in the shootout, courtesy PR Sreejesh.
Sreejesh in a shootout is second to none, as he's displayed multiple times in his long career. The recent Pro League matches showed that, especially in the shootouts, where Sreejesh raised his level and earned bonus points for his team.
Advantage India, and game India, Sreejesh pulling off a stunning save against Phil Roper to give India the advantage and then Rajkumar Pal sealing his chance to book India's place in the semifinals.
Captain Harmanpreet delivers the bronze
India faltered against world champions Germany in the semis 3-2. The defeat was painful as there was not much to separate the two teams. To pick up the pieces and go again, this time for an Olympic medal, is not easy.
Last time in Tokyo 2020, they overcame Germany. This time they were up against Spain. The match didn't start well for them with Spain taking the lead 1-0. There was a slight dip in their performance, and they struggled the most in the second quarter. But 20 seconds before half-time, Harmanpreet did what he does the best. A thundering dragflick to make it 1-1 and lift the momentum. Three minutes after the restart, the captain scored again to make it 2-1, his 10th goal of the tournament, the most at Paris 2024.
This was his redemption - helping his team to win the bronze. Last year at the World Cup, Harmanpreet's form took a hit and India crashed out in the crossover stage, even before the quarters. Now, he scored in every match, bar one. His goals saved India against New Zealand and Argentina. He scored to give India the lead against Britain, which proved to be the turning point in the match. He scored twice against Ireland to ensure India win and qualify for the quarters. He netted two more against the Aussies to help India record a famous win. He gave his team the lead against the Germans and finally, his two goals made the difference against Spain.
This Indian team stuttered in the beginning, but what mattered was how they ended. A bronze is a completely deserving medal.