“Kabhi team se emotionally bahar hone nahin diya” - Amit Rohidas on red-card incident at Paris Olympics 2024

Amit Rohidas, who faced a suspension for one match after receiving a red card, shared that his teammates supported him well while he endured a couple of sleepless nights while dealing with the trauma of missing out on the semi-final.

The Indian men’s hockey team played with 10 men for 42 minutes during its quarter-final encounter against Great Britain on August 4. However, they went on to win the thrilling encounter 4-2 in the shootout.

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"I really missed the semi-final because of the one-match suspension. It was such a crucial match," Amit Rohidas told PTI.

"Pura country aur mere teammates mere saath the... Kabhi team se emotionally bahar hone nahin diya. Mera focus bas agli match pe thaa,” he added.

Team India went on to secure the bronze medal after defeating Spain by 2-1 on August 8. It was their second successive bronze medal victory.

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“It wasn’t intentional” - Amit Rohidas on receiving red card

Amit Rohidas was penalized in the 17th minute for putting his stick in a dangerous position that struck Will Calnan in his face. Though the on-field referee initially didn’t deem it as a serious offense, it was changed to a red card after a video referral.

The red card decision led to a one-match suspension for Rohidas and he missed out on the semi-final against Germany, which India lost and made the cut to the bronze medal match against Spain.

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"I don’t know what people are saying outside, but I know as a player what I’ve gone through. It wasn’t intentional, and the referee’s decision is part of the game,” Rohidas stated (per Times of India).

Nevertheless, Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh’s exceptional goalsaving tactics propelled the quarter-final to the shootout. India went on to clinch the match by 4-2 in the shootout to make the cut for their second consecutive Olympics semi-final.

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