"We knew we had one last shot at glory"- Amit Rohidas shares story of Indian comeback in hockey bronze medal match at Paris Olympics
The Indian hockey team's ace defender, Amit Rohidas, shared how the team staged a stunning comeback to clinch bronze in Paris. After a sensational win against Great Britain in the quarterfinals, with a man down, the 'Men in Blue' were flying high and wide.
However, the team's morale soon came crashing down after a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Germany in the semifinal. Amit dwelled on that loss and revealed that though it hurt bad, the Indian team knew they still had one last opportunity to etch their name in India's hockey folklore.
Amit Rohidas spoke with Sportskeeda at a felicitation ceremony for PR Sreejesh in Delhi and credited the nation for rallying behind him.
"Every team desires to make it to the final, but, only one team can. We tried our best but that semifinal loss did hurt. However, we knew that we still have that one last shot at glory, in the bronze medal match," Said Rohidas.
It was 'going back to the drawing board' that got India back on track and made a roaring comeback, beating Spain 2-1 in the bronze medal game.
"We sat down as a team and spoke. We reset our mindset and revisited our goal. In the end, it was about going back to the drawing board. That is how we got our morale back and made a comeback as a team," he added.
"The entire country rallied behind me"—Amit Rohidas opens up on his red card in the hockey quarterfinals at Paris Olympics
Amit Rohidas was in the midst of a huge game-changing moment at the Paris Olympics 2024. The ace defender was shown the red card in India's all-important quarterfinal fixture against Great Britain.
The 31-year-old shared what went through his head as he walked off the field, watching his team being brought down to 10 men.
"Of course, it feels bad as a player when you are forced to leave the field, however, no one in the team blamed me even a bit," said Rohidas. "After the game, I saw the entire country rallying behind me. That lifted my spirits."
For Amit Rohidas, the shine of an eventual bronze medal made everything else appear menial. He shared that by clinching the medal, all the demons of his red card were gone.
"I just did not want to return from Paris without a medal. Once we won the bronze medal, that special feeling helped me put all the negatives in the past. The red card incident is no longer in my head," he added.