Chennai: The legally recognized sport of a country is considered the national sport of that country. They reflect the culture, tradition and belief of the country and identify the people of that country.
In this manner, Hockey is considered as the national sport of India. Because the Indian team won the World Cup of Hockey held in 1975 and set a record. Also, India is the country that has won the most gold medals in Olympic hockey. That's why hockey is considered as the national sport of India.
In that way, the 33rd Olympic Games are currently being held in the province of Paris in France. Indian hockey team is participating in this tournament. In this, the Indian team played against the Great Britain team in the quarter-final match held on August 4. The Indian team won 4-2 and qualified for the semi-finals.
In the semi-final match held yesterday (August 6), the Indian team struggled and lost against Germany. Thus, the Indian hockey team will meet the Spanish hockey team in the bronze medal match to be held tomorrow (August 8).
Meanwhile, the former captain of the Indian men's hockey team Vadipatti Raja has given an exclusive interview to the ETV Bharat Tamil Nadu, about the defeat of the Indian hockey team in the semi-final match and the bronze medal match that will be held tomorrow. He said, "Though the Indian hockey team put up a good performance, a few mistakes cost them the chance to win the semi-final match.
'Indian team Mistakes': Indian hockey team should have focused more on kicking the ball into penalty corners to score goals. But our players failed to do so. In the semi-final match, Indian hockey player Jarmanpreet Singh was awarded a penalty corner after blocking an overhand ball in the D-circle. The German players converted it into a goal. That was the first mistake for the Indian hockey team.
Another Indian player Amit was red carded which was also a setback for our team. Having lost a player who could have excelled as a deep defender to a red card sent off, the Germans turned the ball over with ease.
India got a chance at the end of the game as well. They missed that chance as well and missed out on a huge chance to qualify for the finals. The Indian hockey team performed better than the previous matches in this match.
But a few mistakes resulted in a semi-final defeat. We were watching the match with the intention that the Indian hockey team would definitely win the gold medal. But the opportunity to win was missed," said Vadipatti Raja.
'We need to change the game': He also said, "The Indian hockey team has played with full focus on defending in the last two matches. But on the European side, they play more attacking than defending side.
So the Indian hockey team should focus more on playing attacking style. Because I have played with European countries (overseas tournaments) for 11 years. If the opponent tries to play defending, they will try to play attacking. It is taught to them from childhood.
They just play that way. According to them, Indian hockey team players also have to change the game style. Indian hockey team should play with determination when playing man to man. When carrying the ball alone, they should play by predicting the opponent without getting caught by the opponent.
'Best Goalkeeper': The Indian hockey team has to play as a team in the upcoming tournament. Especially for the Indian team, goalkeeper Sreejesh is playing well. His presence in the team is an added strength. He has been playing with me since 2002. He has played many matches under my captainship.
He is performing well. The Indian team must win the bronze medal in Paris Olympics. The expectation of the whole of India is that the Indian hockey team should win. Our team had won a bronze medal in the last Olympics as well. We are looking forward to repeat the same," said Vadipatti Raja, Former Indian men's hockey team captain.
