India staged a comeback of sorts after a rusty start against Japan to win 7-2 and book a birth in the final. While the whole team held their nerves despite conceding a goal as early in the second minute itself, one player who played a crucial role in the win was Ramandeep Singh. Ramandeep netted two goals in the match and walked away with player of the match tag.
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“We didn’t lose confidence even after a goal was scored in the second minute. We knew Japan would play full press and our plan was to make a comeback in case we concede goals. So, we didn’t worry after the first goal was scored by them, instead kept and morale high and beat the Asian champion by 7-2,” says Ramandeep.

The match was not just crucial for India to proceed to the Olympic qualifiers, but also for Ramandeep, who was looking to find his momentum back after a career-threatening knee injury.

“The last one year has been very tough. I have missed several tournaments because of my injury. This is the second major injury I faced. I had immense support from my coach and players,” he says.

“I was getting a lot of opportunities even in the previous games, but I couldn’t score. But now, I have been able to ink my name in the scoring sheet. This will be a major confidence booster for the final match.

Brace of goals against Asian Champions Japan has certainly boosted his self-confidence, and that is what is required for India whose first objective is to make it to the Tokyo number.