"If only the shot had been on target" - Shamsher Singh recalls last-gasp effort in Olympic hockey SF, ponders over what could have been [Exclusive]
Shamsher Singh has been the deserving recipient of a great deal of affection and admiration following the bronze-medal-winning performance of the Indian men's hockey team at the Paris Olympics.
Despite the phenomenal achievement of having finished on the Olympic podium for a second successive time, Shamsher continues to ponder over what could have been if his last-gasp effort in the semifinals had found the target.
During an exclusive interaction with Sportskeeda, the immensely talented midfielder looked back at India's magnificent campaign at Paris 2024, while also describing the frantic final moments of the semifinal against Germany.
The Indians appeared to have the upper hand for large portions of the high-stakes Olympic semifinal, but found themselves trailing 2-3 at the death following a 54th-minute field goal from Marco Miltkau.
Despite putting the Germans under intense pressure in the last five minutes of the contest, an equalizer was proving elusive for Craig Fulton's team.
With just three seconds left before the end of regulation time, Shamsher Singh unleashed a shot that seemed to have the power to beat Jean-Paul Danneberg in the German goal.
Danneberg did not have to deal with the strike, however, as the ball sailed over, agonisingly close to the crossbar, taking with it India's hopes of making it to the final of the Olympic men's hockey event after a gap of 44 years.
"There were just 3 seconds left when I took the shot on goal, but unfortunately, it was a bit off target and over the goalpost. I wanted to do whatever I could to try and score an equaliser, but in the end, it wasn't to be. There wasn't enough time to take aim as well as I would have liked to with the clock ticking down," Shamsher Singh recalled.
"No doubt the thought remains that if only the shot had been on target, there is so much more that we could have achieved. Maybe the final outcome could have been different. All the same, we played our hearts out in the semifinal," he declared.
Immediately after the win against Spain in the bronze-medal game that followed, the lad from Amritsar chose to contact his parents to share the joy of the momentous victory.
"I spoke to my parents immediately after the bronze-medal match against Spain. It was a proud moment and naturally, they were extremely pleased," Shamsher Singh revealed.
"We were fortunate to have received a lot of love from the time we landed at New Delhi airport. Hockey has in a way been revived thanks to two consecutive bronze medals that the team won. It boosts our confidence in no small measure when we realise that a large number of people are now watching the game and following us," an elated Shamsher Singh said.
Shamsher Singh explains how 10-man India beat GB, overcame Australia after successive defeats
Shamsher Singh narrated with a sense of pride how the team rallied to force a shootout in the quarterfinal against Great Britain when all seemed lost following the 18th-minute red card picked up by Amit Rohidas.
"The quarterfinals against GB was one of the most memorable matches that we played. It was the first time in Olympic history that a team registered a win after having played that long with ten players on the pitch. It was a turning point for us, the way we battled against GB after the 18th-minute red card that was shown to Amit Rohidas," he explained.
"As soon as Amit picked up the card, we had a brief huddle with our captain Harmanpreet Singh. We had to accept the fact that following the red card we had no option but to give it everything we have," said Shamsher Singh who was part of the Indian team that won bronze in Tokyo 2021.
While the Indians were expecting Amit Rohidas to be shown a green or a yellow card, the defender from Odisha was forced to leave the pitch for the remainder of the contest, thus forcing the eight-time Olympic champions to rally hard.
Prioritising defence over attack became the strategy even as previous practice sessions that trained the team to play with ten players came in handy on the big day.
"The spirit that we would play for Amit Rohidas despite the mistake he committed helped us find strength. We were expecting a green or at most a yellow card but instead, he was shown a red card," said Shamsher Singh recounting the stunning moment.
"Before the Olympics, we had worked on a strategy to counter teams even if we were down to ten players for five or ten minutes as a result of a green or a yellow card. This, however, was a red-card situation. Our coach stressed that we had to ensure that there were no defensive lapses. We had to prioritise defence over attack," he added.
A sound defensive structure was the key to thwarting a wave of opposition attacks so much so that Great Britain appeared to run out of ideas towards the end of the final quarter despite the one-man advantage.
"Our defensive structure was extremely good and all the boys remained disciplined throughout until the very end while helping each other by covering for players who committed rare mistakes in defence. After the red card, the intensity increased, such was the spirit and the desire to create history with ten players," Shamsher Singh disclosed.
The 27-year-old stressed that despite back-to-back defeats against the Koobaburas in the 5-test series in Perth and the Pro League, the team had accumulated a wealth of information on Colin Batch's chargers. The Indians overcame a 52-year-long Olympic jinx against the Aussies at the Paris 2024 Olympics following their 3-2 win.
"We had made up our minds to beat Australia after having lost to them several times. In spite of the fact that we lost in Perth, we accumulated a whole lot of information about the Aussies and it helped us in Paris. We also overcame a mental barrier as we now know that we have the ability to beat a team like Australia in a big tournament like the Olympics," he stated.
Shamsher Singh has been rested even as the Indian men's hockey team seeks to defend their title at the Asian Champions Trophy which begins in China on September 8.