Prime Minister Congratulates Indian 4x400m Relay Team

India's men's hockey team scraped into the final of the Asian Champions Trophy on Thursday with a 4-3 victory over Pakistan that left the losing side in tears and the winners admitting they had escaped by the skin of their teeth (The Hindu). Abhishek struck the decisive goal in the dying minutes of a contest that had swung violently after India held a comfortable 3-0 lead, only to concede three unanswered goals and face the prospect of a stunning collapse.

The contrasting moods in the two dugouts told the complete story, according to match reports. Pakistani players, described as grown professionals, could not stop crying; they knew they had a chance and it had slipped away. The Indian celebrations were muted, tempered by the knowledge that a match firmly in their control had nearly unravelled. "Both. First half was very good, in the second we made mistakes and they punished us," captain Manpreet Singh said after the game. "Pakistan is a good team and they will hit back if you make mistakes. The good thing is that we didn’t give up and stuck to our game plan till the end" (The Hindu).

Vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh summed up the evening in two words: "Memorable, relieved." He acknowledged the errors that allowed Pakistan back into the contest and said the team would learn from them before the final. Coach Craig Fulton was equally candid about the team's failure to kill off the game. "End of third quarter and start of 4th we lost a bit of our shape and it went down to the wire," Fulton said. "We needed to get to the fourth and fifth goals after the first three, we missed a lot of chances. It was a difficult game. You cannot play the game you want, you have to play the game you have in front of you and I am glad we found a way out. Relieved but can’t be happy with being 3-0 up, going to 3-3 and then win 4-3" (The Hindu).

The narrow escape came on a day of mixed sporting news for the country. Hours before the hockey drama unfolded, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Indian men's 4x400m relay team for winning a bronze medal at the Asian Games (PIB). The Prime Minister also interacted with the team's captain, Smit Machchhar, marking a moment of celebration for the athletics contingent even as the hockey side digested a survival that felt uncomfortably close to a defeat (PIB).