Hockey at the Paris Olympics: chaos out of control as India, led by Harmanpreet Singh, wins a thrilling match against New Zealand: Mandeep Singh (24′), Vivek Sagar Prasad (34′), and Harmanpreet Singh (59′) scored the goals for India. The captain also converted a penalty kick in the final seconds of the match to seal the victory.
When discussing his ideas, Indian men’s hockey team head coach Craig Fulton is a big fan of jargon. Maybe “control” would be at the top of that list.
India had none of that early in their Paris 2024 Pool B campaign against New Zealand. They had to chase the contest after giving up early. More open areas in defence than he would have liked resulted from it. But before departing for Europe, Fulton had made an intriguing observation in a conversation. It could be simpler to come from behind than to lead.
“Getting out in front and then defending it is difficult; it’s always easier to come back.” The problem with losing, he remarked, is that you have nothing to lose.
It’s debatable if it were simple, but India accomplished this by coming back from a 0-1 hole to win a thrilling match 3-2. Mandeep Singh (24′), Vivek Sagar Prasad (34′), and Harmanpreet Singh (59′) scored the goals for India. In the last moments of the match, the captain converted a penalty shot.
Ultimately, the turmoil that has frequently been a part of Indian hockey won out—not the control that Fulton had hoped for.
It wasn’t intentional. India didn’t enter the game intending to lose. But after they did, India set about making things right, helped by a Sam Lane penalty corner in the eighth minute. In their pursuit of a goal, they did expose themselves to counterattack, and it took a crucial interception by Amit Rohidas to save New Zealand from taking a 2-0 lead.
