Paris Olympics: Bronze medallist Odisha Hockey star Amit Rohidas on Red Card

Star Odia defender Amit Rohidas along with his team members are ecstatic after the Indian hockey team managed to clinch the bronze medal after finishing third in the ongoing Paris Olympics by scrapping past Spain 2-1 in the third-position play-off match. Amit was part of the bronze-winning Indian hockey team as the only Odia player.

“We are on cloud nine after winning the bronze medal. The whole country and our state are celebrating the feat. All the players of the Indian team are also celebrating the success in Paris. We enjoyed the moment up to the hilt. We danced on the ground and in the dressing room as well. It was the last match of legendary custodian PR Sreejesh. We also gave him the farewell. I couldn’t celebrate during our shoot-out victory against Great Britain in the quarterfinal match. Hence, after winning the play-off match against Spain I went all-out with my celebration,” said Rohidas.

Amit received a red card in India’s quarterfinal hockey match against Great Britain. Subsequently, he was suspended from playing in the semifinal against Germany. However, the star defender returned to the team for the all-important play-off match against Spain and played a crucial role in the team’s fighting victory.

Reflecting on the unfortunate incident, the star defender said, “It's a part of the game. Nobody knows what will happen in the game at any moment. The accident with the opposition player was unintentional. To subdue Indian players, creating disturbances was part of their strategy. I was crestfallen after the incident. It was very difficult to play with 10 players against the opposition team at this level. However, we managed to win the match with our fighting spirit.”

“Our whole team missed me during the semi-final. They supported me and bolstered my confidence to come with all the guns blazing in the match against Spain. We chalked out the strategy in the team meeting and successfully executed it on the ground. Spain has many experienced players. They read the game very well. They gave us a tough challenge, but we were confident enough to pull off a victory. Saving the penalty corner during the last part of the game was memorable for me. Legendary Sreejesh also did a commendable job. I don’t have any words to explain about him,” said Rohidas.

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