Hockey
'Indian hockey team's performance in Paris better than gold': Ex-captain Baskaran
Baskaran, the 1980 Olympics gold medal-winning former India captain, said India played the best brand of hockey at the Paris Olympics.
Vasudevan Baskaran is the 1980 Olympics gold medal-winning Indian men's hockey team captain. (Photo credit: The Hindu)
Former Indian hockey captain Vasudevan Baskaran termed the Indian men's hockey team's bronze medal-winning performance in the Paris Olympics 2024 better than winning gold and suggested they deserved a "platinum medal" for their efforts.
India clinched the bronze medal after beating Spain 2-1 in the third-place playoff, thanks to goals from captain Harmanpreet Singh.
Speaking to PTI, Baskaran, who led India to their last Olympic gold in hockey at the 1980 Moscow Games, said, "This is the best performance. We might have missed out on silver or gold, but it happens. India played the best hockey."
"I would rate this team's performance better than gold. If there is a platinum medal, the team deserves it. India did well right from the opening game and played consistent hockey," he added.
He also spoke about the defensive resilience and tactical acumen shown by the team throughout the tournament.
"We even played a match (against Great Britain) with 10 players. So, we should definitely give credit to the team and the management for tackling everything perfectly," he said.
He also heaped praise on head coach Craig Fulton.
"He (Fulton) has been successfully commanding the boys for the last two years. His defensive system has been good. It looks more like an attack," said Baskaran.
'We must focus on consistent play'
Talking about talismanic goalkeeper PR Sreejesh's retirement, he said, "Somebody has to retire someday, and somebody has to fill in. After MS Dhoni retired, didn't India win the World Cup? We should think about the future. We should think how to nurture them (young players), as no one is unbeatable in sports."
"Regardless of whether Sreejesh or Harmanpreet (Singh) is there or not, the Indian team has to continue playing, and we need to process it in a big way, which does take time in hockey," he added.
Baskaran also said India should focus on nurturing young talent for the 2026 World Cup.
"Everything will change after this World Cup because expectations will be high from this team," he said.
"We must focus on consistent play, while our forwards need to step up more since we cannot always rely on penalty corners. We need to have more go at shooting for the goal; thus we need to create more scoring chances," signed off Baskaran.
