Mumbai: A medal isn't the only measure of a champion. The Indian women’s hockey team proved to be a success story with their performance at the Tokyo Olympics, garnering love and respect along the way. It was only their third Olympic hockey appearance, but yet managed to claim the spotlight.
Rani Rampal and her girls from nowhere became champions, winning hearts of crores of people at home and across the globe, in their own way.
The history-making Indian women's hockey team's dream of securing its maiden Olympic medal remained unfulfilled when they lost 3-4 to Great Britain in a hard-fought bronze play-off match on Friday. The Indian women had already created history and surpassed all expectations by entering the semi-finals of the Games for the first time. But the maiden Olympic medal remained elusive as world no. 4 Great Britain, who were gold-winners in the 2016 Rio Games, came out on top in the pulsating encounter.
However, the Indian eves left the Oi Hockey Stadium North Pitch with respect and proved that the greatness of sport lies not just in winning medals, but being champions despite having anything in their kitty, yet conquering the world. It was one of the rare moments as the English women were seen consoling their opponents after India lost the bronze medal-winning match against them.
A soothing act by the English women, which has been rare in the field of sports.
Indians, who were underdogs when the games began, punched above their weight and rattled their opponents with their fight. As Nazleen Madraswawalla, former Indian player said, “It has been a day of mixed emotions, as Indian women went down fighting to the former 2016 Olympic Champions 3-4. It was a great display of top-class hockey along with determination and grit. The hunger was evident, but it did not convert into the outcome we so dearly wished for.”
Recalling the painful moment, Nazleen, who is now settled in New Zealand, said, “It was painful to know that the opportunity to stand on the podium and create history was snatched away in the blink of an eye.”
But the striking forward of yesteryears, Nazleen, added, “In this loss, I don’t see defeat. I see this as a moment to understand how these girls worked as a team, and gave their all till the very last whistle.”
There was individual brilliance, with Vandana Katariya becoming the first Indian player with a hat-trick, and the custodian Savita Punia’s 100 per cent accuracy rate, and Gurjit Kaur scoring in the last three matches with her powerful drag flicks.
“Self-belief is crucial as unless they believe in themselves, the next steps will be too difficult to navigate, and my advice to those who are in the team, the young players who are waiting in the ranks to represent India, and those who aspire to do great things for this game, three words: Dedication, focus and self-belief,” Nazleen added.
No medal. But celebrate the India women's hockey team anyway. They deserve it. The strides they have made in international hockey have been nothing short of incredible champions.
