India earned a penalty corner that was leveraged by the Drag Flicker, Gurjit Kaur.
Chak De India!
India’s resolute women’s hockey team scored the first leading goal against a top seed, Argentina. A remarkable moment indeed, since India’s women had never struck their hockey sticks in a semifinals match in any of their Olympic editions, until the Tokyo Olympics.
But Argentina is a top dog. The black shirts did not just recover, but surged ahead to make 2 goals successively. Before the Indians could score an equalizer, the 70 minutes expired.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite turn out to be a “Chak De India” experience. They were ever so close of winning their first medal in Hockey.
That wasn’t the end for Team India. Oi Hockey Stadium still had to accommodate the mighty girls for their maiden bronze medal match against the defending champions, Great Britain.
The British ladies dribbled, passed and shot the ball across the stadium incredibly, scoring the first two goals and an outstanding lead. Nevertheless, the Indian sweethearts did not lose heart. Grit writ on their faces, they played with composure. And Gurjit Kaur earned their 1st goal by capitalizing their earned penalty corner.
Chak De India!
The Indian blues were on fire. Kaur, the Drag Flicker, lashed her signature drag flick to level the scores, uplifting India once again.
Chak De India!
India had a taste of the goaling streak. Not quite ready to break it yet, Vandana Katariya expertly scored a field goal, setting India on lead and making the international audience witness an undeniably thrilling fightback.
Chak De India!
Team GB wasn’t a team to take things lying down. They scored an equalizer. Then they devoured all the chances to attack the Indian goal post. But the veteran goal guardian, Savita Punia, stood her ground by keeping her undivided focus on the field hockey ball.
Chak De India!
It all came down to that one penalty corner in the quarterfinal. The English gamechangers struck the ball straight into the goal, clinching the bronze medal.
Then will “Chak De India” remain a dream that never came true?
Absolutely not. Appearing in this Tokyo Olympics campaign is itself an “Agni Pariksha” for most of these prolific players hailing from humble backgrounds. Captain Rani Rampal, rejected due to malnourishment, ceaselessly practiced with ‘broken’ hockey stick until she got selected. To Neha Goyal, hockey was the escapade from her alcoholic abusive father. Majority of the squad had to train stealthily to seek refuge from the reprimanding glances of the village elders, who thought that hockey was nothing but ‘running around the ground with short skirts.’ Each player is a protagonist of her own struggle story.
They resisted. They rebelled. They overcame. They conquered unseen stages. They combatted unprecedented battles. Thus, they are nothing less than the celebrated champions of the cult classic, “Chak De India”.
Hockey is so intricately linked with India’s sporting glory. Why wouldn’t it be, when Indian men’s hockey team had bestowed upon the subcontinent as many as 11 Olympic medals, including 8 golds. However, India lost its golden reign on the hockey arena since 1980 and suffered an agonizing medal jinx for the last 4 decades.
India faced Germany for the bronze medal match of the Tokyo Olympics. The Germans took the lead, instilling trepidation in the avid Indian hockey fans. Simranjeet came to rescue, scoring a brace, equalizing the scoreboard.
Chak De India!
In the second quarter the Desi boys were under the pump after conceding 2 quick goals. Lifting the spirits of all nail-biting Indian fans, they made a memorable comeback from a 2-goal deficit by using two consecutive penalty corners in their favor. The lads were on par with the Germans before the half-time. They didn’t quite stop their comeback there, because the Indian squad gained momentum in the third quarter cooking magic with their sticks to score 2 more goals in a row.
Chak De India!
Germans managed to reduce the deficit by scoring a goal. In the nerve-wracking last six seconds, Team Germany sent the ball flying to the Indian goal, only to be blocked skillfully by India’s seasoned goal custodian, PR Sreejesh.
Chak De India!
The curse was broken and history was rewritten in Tokyo Olympics as the Indian boys bagged the field hockey bronze medal, a redemption in disguise, for the nation.
And that’s how the country’s boys, alongside with the girls, embodied the core essence of “Chak De India” during the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
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