This medal will be celebrated for a long time

Days before both our Indian teams left for Tokyo, I was in Bengaluru. Even though I would have loved to, I could not go to meet them due to the Covid-19 restrictions. So, I wrote a personal letter to both teams, and sent it across, along with bouquets and sweets. I wrote to them about how to enjoy the Olympics atmosphere, the Games Village, and playing at the biggest stage.

This medal will be celebrated for a long, long time, because that is how long it has taken for Indian hockey to get here again. I want them to enjoy this victory; spend time with family; go on holiday. They have sacrificed so much for this due to the pandemic. The boys and the coaches have stayed away from home for long, being in one place for almost a year-and-a-half.

Make no mistake, this was not a one-day process. A lot of coaches have played a role in the development of this team. We’ve had many foreign coaches work with the team, and also Harendra Singh. His 2016 World Cup triumph with the junior national team was a defining moment as well. Eight players from that team were part of the Tokyo squad.

I have been fortunate enough to know some of the players of the 1980 gold medal-winning squad — Zafar Iqbal sir, Merwyn Fernandes sir and Baskaran sir, who was our coach at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. I would only hear all these people talk about the feeling of winning an Olympic medal. I was very, very close to seeing that medal in Sydney. But those last couple of minutes against Poland took everything away. That was on my mind, so I was thrilled to see how this team held on to its lead in the dying stages against Germany.

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Even though some people may say otherwise, due to the teams that weren’t there, the 1980 medal was crucial. It inspired the players of the next generation, and then those from my batch.

This medal, toom will have a huge impact on the younger generation wanting to take up hockey. They will look at how PR Sreejesh performed, how Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinderpal Singh played, how Savita Punia performed. More importantly, their parents will also have seen this; they will not stop their kids if they want to be the next Sreejesh or Savita or Harmanpreet.

A lot of changes have taken place over the years in the sport, be it terms of facilities, infrastructure or the budget allocated. You see centres like Bhubaneswar and Ranchi blossoming now. I am confident that this will further boost that process of change in Indian hockey. Look at where these very set of players have reached now. Some of them came from limited backgrounds, and didn’t even have hockey sticks or shoes when they started playing the sport.

Hopefully, this can also revive the Indian hockey league. That will bring in more money in the sport and more recognition for our players. And they deserve every bit of the limelight, every bit of fame.

My message to the team: let’s carry forward the momentum of this victory. Be consistent with the results in the future tournaments — you have the next Olympics in three years, the World Cup in a year-and-a-half, the Asian Games next year. Take some time off now but begin the process towards that immediately after. Start afresh. Build on the good things that you have done in Tokyo and rectify the things that didn’t go well.

At the 2024 Olympics, our aim — without any doubt — should be a podium finish again.

(Dhanraj Pillay is a former hockey captain and four-time Olympian)