Shivendra Singh, star of yesterday's stunning win over England, says he finally got justice after officials ruined india's chances over the same opponents in the Olympic qualifiers at Chile
Shivendra Singh,u00a0staru00a0of yesterday's stunning win over England, says he finally got justice after officials ruined india's chances over the same opponents in the Olympic qualifiers at Chileu00a0
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When India forward Shivendra Singh stepped up to take the fifth and all-important penalty stroke against England in the CWG men's hockey semi-final yesterday, there was a lot going through his mind.
His thoughts revolved around the prospective gold medal, the 2-3 loss to the same team at the World Cup and most importantly, the hurt that the Englishmen caused a billion Indians by beating them in the 2008 Beijing Olympic qualifiers in Chile and eliminating the hockey-loving nation from the quadrennial Games for the first time in history .
Then...An otherwise shy man, Shivendra told journalists on arrival from Chile that the umpiring at Santiago was unfair.
"A couple of officials came to our hotel rooms on the eve of the final and warned two players for no fault of theirs. That shook us and we were nervous in the final and lost. Na-insaafi thi (injustice was done to us)," he had said.
Yesterday, Shiva sought justice against the very same Englishmen. He was anything but nervous as he began the match with a brilliant run into the English defence in the 19th minute, earning the hosts their first penalty corner.
SuperSarvanjit Singh made it 1-0 after Dhanajay Mahadik's drag-flick was saved by England custodian James Fair. However, England earned a penalty corner in the dying seconds of the first half and Ashley Jackson made it 1-1.
At the change of ends, Jackson struck again off another penalty corner (41st min), following which Simon Mantell (45th min) made it 3-1 with an indirect penalty corner conversion. Team India's resurgence however began here on.
Vikram Pillay reduced the margin in the 57th minute with a neat tap-in after a smart Sandeep Singh pass found Sardar Singh near the circle, who in turn, relayed the ball to Pillay.
Sarvanjit then scored the equaliser with 10 minutes left on the clock. And after a goalless extra-time, it was up to India custodian Bharat Chetri to deliver the goods under the bar in the tie-breaker.
Chetri saved England's third stroke (Glenn Kirkham) to give India the edge. All the remaining eight strokes went in, before Shivendra aptly stepped up to take Stroke No 10 and gave India victory.
"The emotions I went through after the Olympic debacle are incomparable. I remember how scared I was to return home... and the chaotic scenes at Mumbai airport... I was stunned. But today. it's as though life has come a full circle. I now want to win the gold medal," said Shivendra.
