Indian hockey team are showstoppers at Commonwealth Games

By Mihir Vasavda

It all happened in slow motion. An eerie silence gripped the stadium as Shivendra Singh stepped forward to take the final penalty stroke. Nervous, he closed his eyes, imagined a medal around his neck, and shot it past the England goalie.

A few seconds and one powerful shot later, the silence turned into a thunderous roar, the players, in tears, hugged each other and coach Jose Brasa, with a faint smile, savoured the rare, joyous scenes from the sidelines.

India, after a hiatus of eight painful years finally managed to reach the final of a multi-sport event by beating England 5-4 on penalty strokes in a pulsating semifinal played at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Tuesday.

With both teams tied 3-3 after extra time, it was all down to the penalties. And just like their football team, the English hockey team too failed to impress in the shootouts. But India’s real hero was goalkeeper Bharat Chetri. He made a crucial save of Glenn Kirkham in the third penalty to give India the advantage.

It was a grudge match in many ways. England, of late, have enjoyed playing against India, having registered wins in the World Cup earlier this year and a couple of friendly matches. But ones with sharper memories will remember that it was this England team that dumped India out of the Olympics qualifiers two years ago. “We did have that in mind. But all I thought of while taking the final stroke was a medal around my neck. I just closed my eyes, and pushed the ball with as much power as I could generate,” Shivendra said.

India will meet the mighty Australians in the final on Thursday, but they can afford to worry about that later.

And if one thought India’s performance against Pakistan was one of the better ones in a long time, they took their game a level up versus the Englishmen.

India took the lead in the 20th minute with Sarvanjit Singh scoring off a rebound following a penalty-corner.

But the European Champions leveled through a deadly drag-flick by Ashley Jackson just seconds before half-time. England took a 2-1 lead with Jackson coming good once again. They soon made it 3-1, this time Simon Mantell netting the goal.

But India were out there to prove a point. And did they do that in style! Vikram Pillay pulled one back with a field goal in the 56th minute (3-2). Soon after, Sarvanjit leveled the scores in the 60th minute.