Amit Rohidas breaks silence on red card incident in Paris Olympics quarter-final match

He had a few sleepless nights as he dealt with the trauma of losing a crucial Olympics semi-final, but Amit Rohidas is indebted to his teammates for not letting him feel ostracized after his red card led to the Indian team’s playing with 10 men for 42 minutes during the hockey quarter-final against Great Britain. The Indian men’s hockey team secured back-to-back bronze medals, their record-extending 13th Olympic hockey medal, despite Rohidas’s red card setback in the quarter-final against Great Britain which saw him suspended for the semi-final .

“I actually missed the semi-final because of a one-match suspension. It was such a crucial match,” India’s 31-year-old star defender told PTI in an exclusive interview during the team felicitation at India House in Paris on day Saturday.

“Pura country aur mere teammates mere saath the… Kabhi team se emotionally bahar hone nahin diya. Mera focus bas aagli match pe thaa (I knew the whole country and my teammates Emotionally, they never let me feel that I am an outsider or away. I was totally focused on our next match.” The Indian opener was penalized in the 17th minute of the quarter-final for a hit that inadvertently hit British forward Will Calnan in the face.

Although the on-field referee initially did not consider it a serious infraction, the decision was upgraded to a red card following a video referral.

This led to Rohidas’ one-game suspension, leaving him sidelined for the semi-final against Germany, which India narrowly lost.

Reflecting on the incident, Rohidas said, “I don’t know what people are saying out there, but I know as a player what I went through. It wasn’t intentional and the referee’s decision is part of the game.” Despite being reduced to 10 men, Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh put on a dogged show to take the match to penalties, where he once made the difference with his heroics to take India to a second successive semi-final of the hockey Olympics.

“It gave me immense pride to beat our opponent on penalties, despite being reduced to 10 players. We showed our compatriots how we can fight despite the numerical disadvantage. It was not just once, but twice that we broke records: beating Australia after 52 years old and winning with 10 players”, he reflected on the campaign.

Any regrets about not being able to upgrade your Tokyo Olympics bronze to gold or silver? “Maybe the color of the medal would have changed, but it’s all destined, you can’t change anything. Luckily we won’t go back empty-handed. This is the country’s medal.” After starting with a rusty victory over New Zealand in a tough group A, India grew from strength to strength game by game and their biggest victory came when they defeated Australia 3-2 in the last league match.

The bronze medal match against Spain was a befitting send-off for veteran goalkeeper Sreejesh, who played his last international match capping a perfect show as the Indian ‘wall’.

“Sreejesh bhai may not be on the field after retirement, but he will always be with us as a guide and mentor. I am sure that whoever fills your position below the bar, we will work together as a unit, as we have done. we have done all this while following the same process,” he said.

Rohidas, who has been a key player in India’s defence, further spoke about the collective leadership within the team.

“There is no leader in a team, 16 or 18 people contribute to the leadership role. We do this together. Our team does not have a leader.

“Yes, there is a designated captain, but it is a team game. We all make our contributions, plan and execute accordingly,” she emphasized.

Mike Horn’s Boot Camp: It was an incredible experience

Before the Olympics, the team underwent a challenging three-day training camp in Switzerland, led by the adventurous Mike Horn, who was previously associated with MS Dhoni and Co before their 2011 triumph and also with the German national team in their FIFA World Cup victory in 2014.

Rohidas recounted the experience fondly.

“Accha bhi lag raha tha, aur upar se phaat bhi raha tha. Sab precautions thaa, but agar kuchh ulta pulta ho jaata toh wahan chance nahin hai. (We had all the safety precautions, but we also freaked out. It was like a balance between life and death).

“A magnificent and incredible three-day camp. It may look easy from the outside, but only we knew what we were going through during the climb up the cliffs and then the descent – up and down – and how to keep our balance. It really made our tougher, stronger minds”, he recalled.

(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)