From conceding goals under pressure to becoming mentality monsters, who pulled off clutch moments in the Olympics for a second successive bronze, the India men’s hockey team has certainly come a long way.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh credits mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton and a three-day boot camp with Swiss adventurer-cum-explorer Mike Horn for the fortitude his players displayed during their campaign in Paris.
“Yes, definitely, the mental toughness of this side is totally different. We are a united bunch and we backed each other and motivated each other when the chips were down,” Harmanpreet said after returning to the country on Saturday.
“From first to last (game), we played as a unit and backed each other in search of the gold medal. Definitely, Paddy Upton has a big role to play in this. Even the three-day camp with Mike Horn before the Olympics made our bond stronger. So, mentally, we were in a good space.”
Upton, who has previously worked with the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team, came on board in June last year. A camp with Horn before the team made its way to Paris was Upton’s idea. The three-day stay in Switzerland included activities such as walking on a glacier with harnesses, cycling, climbing and rappelling down waterfalls.
The exercises were meant to foster team spirit and build a strong bond of trust. Harmanpreet said all of them helped when the team faced nervy situations like in the quarter-final against Britain during which, it played with 10 men for more than 40 minutes after Amit Rohidas was red-carded for dangerous play.
The team didn’t just manage to hold Britain to 1-1 in regulation time but went on to win the shootout with star goalkeeper PR Sreejesh coming up with a brilliant performance. It was a refreshing outcome for a side, which had the reputation of being a late conceder.
Harmanpreet and his men managed to completely shed that image with the gritty show in Paris, and Sreejesh could take a lot of credit for it.
The 36-year-old athlete from Kerala retired at the end of India’s campaign, ending with the bronze medal after the playoff with Spain.
Harmanpreet, who exchanged his medal with Sreejesh on the podium just as he did in Tokyo, wants the veteran goalkeeper to continue for some more time. He, however, understands his close friend’s desire to go out on a high.
“Sreejesh and I are like brothers. We have played together for long. Yes, I want him to continue playing for some more years, but at the end of the day, it’s completely his personal decision and we should support it. He is a legend and Indian hockey will only benefit when he joins the Indian junior team as a coach,” Harmanpreet said.
Harmanpreet said they went to Paris eyeing gold and although that could not happen after their semi-final loss to Germany, a second consecutive bronze is something they can be proud of. “We really deserved it as we played really well.
“We targeted the gold medal. But unfortunately, we could not win it,” Harmanpreet stated.
