Demoralised India need to regroup quickly to win consecutive Olympics bronze medals

A heartwrenching defeat in the semifinals notwithstanding a demoralised Indian mens hockey team will have to regroup quickly and aim for a second consecutive podium finish at the Paris Olympics 2024 when it takes on Spain in the bronze medal playoff on ThursdayThe Indians played bravely against Germany putting their defence under pressure from the start and in the process took the lead in the seventh minute through a penalty corner conversion by skipper Harmanpreet SinghBut the Germans came back strongly in the second quarter and fourth quarters to secure the close win courtesy of some silly defensive lapses from the Indians especially Harmanpreet SinghThe Indians too were guilty of wasting too many scoring chances including as many as 10 penalty corners while converting two one directly and another through variationThe opposition teams seemed to have found out a way to deny one of the worlds best dragflicker Harmanpreet as he managed to be on target just once on TuesdayThe overreliance on Harmanpreet and lack of innovative penalty corner variations seemed to be hurting India badly here as they dont have much options in their handsBut the return of Amit Rohidas who missed Tuesdays match after being shown the red card against Great Britain in the quarterfinal should bolster the Indian defence and also give more chances from penalty corners as he is second best option from set pieces after HarmanpreetThe Indians were looking to break a 44yearold jinx to reach an Olympic final but it eluded them narrowlyThe last time India made the Olympic hockey final was way back in 1980 Moscow Games which in fact was their last of the eight gold medals at the quadrennial eventAlso ReadDouble Olympic bronze medalwinning shooter Manu Bhaker returns homeA place in final would have at least assured India a silver medal after 1960 Olympics but that also slipped out of handsBut all is not lost for the Indians as they still have a chance to claim a podium finish if they beat Spain on Thursday in the bronze medal matchFor that the Indians will have to leave the baggage of the semifinal loss behind and come out with a fresh mind to get the better of SpainVeteran India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh who is playing his last international tournament reminded his teammates that all is not lostIts a heartbreaking loss for us against Germany We had the chance to win gold but now we have to forget this semifinal and focus on the bronze medal match he had saidIts a medal match and its about the country Its about those 19 players here all the staff And I think we all get a last opportunity to play to get a medal for our country rather than worrying about what happened today TuesdayThese 19 players should play like this is our last opportunity as a player to get a medal for our country Going by form and world ranking the Indians are clear favourites to win the tie against Spain but in the end it will all boil down to the mental aspect of the sideWhile India lost a close semifinal Spain were thrashed 04 by NetherlandsIn world ranking too Spain are placed eighth while India are currently at the fifth spotBut it would be easier said than done for the Indians as Spain while not matching Indias Olympic achievements has made significant strides in recent decadesThe Spanish team has secured two European Championship titles and has consistently participated in World Cups since 1971Indias most notable victory over Spain was in the gold medal match of the Moscow Olympics which they won 43India too enjoy an upperhand over Spain in headtohead record winning last four of the five game they played against each otherIn the Paris Olympics 2024 India and Spain squared off in 10 contests with India coming out winners in seven while their rival won one game and two matches ended in drawsWith agency inputs