Exclusive: It was my wish to see India win an Olympic medal in my lifetime, says Dhanraj Pillay

Dubai - The performance of the men's and women's teams in Tokyo has given fresh hope to Indian hockey

Dhanraj Pillay cried tears of joy after India scripted their greatest hockey victory in 41 years.

For a player who had suffered several Olympic heartbreaks in his career, Pillay felt a sense of relief after India won a riveting third-place match against Germany 5-4 to clinch the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

“Today, I couldn’t hold back my tears after the match. I am very, very happy that my team won the bronze medal and it was a proud moment to see them on the podium. It has given me a lot of joy and happiness,” the legendary Indian striker told Khaleej Times over the phone on Thursday.

“You know it was my wish to see this in my lifetime. I wanted to see India win an Olympic medal in my lifetime. They have achieved that goal today.”

Pillay says India’s nightmarish failure to hold on to a 1-0 lead against Poland in their last group game at the Sydney Olympics still haunts him.

A victory over the modest Polish side would have sent Pillay’s India to the semifinals at the 2000 Summer Games.

But a last-minute equaliser from Poland crushed India’s dream.

“I played in four Olympics, I was very close to reaching the semifinals at the 2000 Sydney Games. But those 60 seconds (against Poland) took Indian hockey backwards,” said Pillay, referring to the team’s gradual decline after the Sydney Games which culminated in their failure to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

Now, the performance of both the men’s and women’s teams in Tokyo has given fresh hope to Indian hockey.

“If you see the performance of both Indian men’s and women’s teams at the Tokyo Olympics, it’s great. Nobody could have asked for more from these two teams,” he said.

“As for the men’s team, after losing the semifinal 5-2 to Belgium, they came back to play a bronze medal match and gave one of their best performances against a top team like Germany. I was thrilled to see their performance today.”

Pillay then revealed the secret to this Indian team’s newfound success on the big stage.

“Even before they left for Tokyo, I had predicted that this team is capable of reaching the podium. The strength of this team is their fitness level. They have shown that in these matches until the last minute,” he said.

“I am very happy with the performance of not just the players, but also the coaching staff as well, the physio, doctor, everybody in the support staff. I think everybody has played a big role in the team’s success in Tokyo.”