It was India written all over the Champions Trophy Final against the mighty Australians even though the Men in Blue returned with silver and not gold in a late-night shootout that messily capped their brilliant play all through the goalless match.
Aussies won 3-1 in the shootout despite a strong Indian protest over a referral that granted Oz a replay of one Sreejesh-defended strike and a trophy presentation that farcically unfolded after an hour of the technical committee look-in into the protest, much after all the Indian fans and the live commentary team had packed up and gone home. The presentation ceremony finally took place in the players' room with few to applaud or witness.
Now, that was as baffling as the sloppy Australians all through a match in which the Indians recorded 56 per cent ball possession in the first half and a whopping 79 per cent in the second. Not just that, the otherwise clinical Aussies missed 11 corners, four of them in a row, and a penalty stroke by a foot in the first half as opposed to the Men in Blue who gave a gritty, spirited and tantalising show of comeback hockey in london.
Goalkeeper Sreejesh saved at least two penalty corners with panache even as the Indian attackers stayed a little behind their own defenders who blocked all the 11 goes at the goal by the Aussies, reducing them to desperation, indiscipline and needless aggression.
The Indians, meanwhile, stood up to the pressure as they rarely do. Aussies created more chances but the Men in Blue refused to give in which kept the game in a goalless balance till the very end, opening up the shootout phase.
India missed four penalty corners showing the usual shuffle with the stick but on this day, it was far less a big miss than Australia's 11 un-converted ones.
A scintillating display of cross pitch scoops, long passes, precision trapping, searing pace of counter attacks and clean co-ordination showed a new side of Indian hockey which sported constructive desperation, undeniable patience and discipline despite it being a medal assured match that too against a team that is the best in the business.
However, by the time, the match went into its final break, the Australia were all over the place — desperate to make a break through the impeccable Indian defence shield, being yellow carded and green carded many a times, at least twice being down to 10 men and once to even nine for indulging in rough mouthfuls and needless aggression. Sadly though, the Indians failed to cash in on the lean patches of the World No 1.
Oltmans delighted
India hockey coach Roeland Oltmans is delighted at his team's outstanding performance at the Champions Trophy and said it will boost their confidence to produce a better show at the Rio Olympic Games.
India settled for a silver medal in its best ever Champions Trophy performance after the spirited side went down 1-3 to world champions Australia in a summit clash penalty shootout.
Oltmans praised his team for putting up a fine show after making their first appearance in the final of the showpiece event in the annual calendar. India had held Australia goalless in regulation period.
"I'm delighted with my team. By all yardsticks, their performance the final was outstanding," said Oltmans.
"I am proud of what we've been doing as a team. Our performance is getting be45tter with every tournament. Any coach would be absolutely pleased with this Indian show.
"We'll use the confidence gained here at the Champions Trophy to give a better display in the Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro," Oltmans said.
Oltmans said the way India performed in the title contest has boosted his faith of a fine show in the Olympics.
"look at the way the boys raised their game to play a competitive final. It was just a day after we lost 2-4 to Australia in the league match," said Oltmans.
"When you play the final you want to win it. We even had our chances," he said. "I'm happy with the silver medal. We can live with that, but last night I was not pleased with the manner in which manner in which the shootout was conducted."
India lodged an appeal against the decision to allow Australia to re-take the second shootout, on which no goal was scored. It held up the medal presentation ceremony and the jury had to deliberate for an hour and a half before Australia were declared winners for a record 14th time.
For India, this was their first silver medal. India's only previous medal in the Champions Trophy was a bronze way back in 1981 at Amsterdam.
The Indian team is now heading for the Spanish city of Valencia for a six-nation tournament.
Sixteen members of the Champions Trophy squad will go to Valencia, where they will be joined by another four coming from home.