Junior Hockey World Cup: India was hungry and determined - The bronze is a fine end to a stellar campaign

India was down 0-2 going into the final 15 minutes of the game and that too in front of a sizeable home crowd. It was enough to deflate spirits. Some magic was needed from somewhere especially with a team like Argentina, which is fit and physical at the same time. Earning the penalty corner was the first step. And when the direct hit wasn’t taken and rather the ball was pushed well into the D for the deflection, you could sense that the Indians hadn’t panicked. That they were thinking clean and mentally each of the players were switched on. 1-2 and India was in business.

A couple of minutes later India had yet one more penalty corner. And it was the very same drill. Only this time the ball was deflected high into the net. But it was literally a carbon copy of the first goal. India had identified a weakness and had exploited it to perfection. The crowd had found voice and there was no stopping the home side from there on.

While the game had evened out, the final push was still needed. And then within three minutes of each other India found the net twice more. 4-2 and the game was done, the final goal coming from a direct hit of a penalty corner from Anmol. In the interim ShardaNand Tiwari had converted a penalty stroke and had given India the 3-1 lead.

There is a reason why it is said that elite high performance sport is played in the mind. 15 minutes separated India from a podium finish and fourth place. Missing out on a medal would have been painful and could have dented the sport in India. For these players who were all flying after beating Belgium, it would have been hard. They needed this win and needed it bad. And to do so, as Sreejesh said at the end of the game, they needed to believe in themselves. Believe that it could be done and mentally needed to be switched on.