Paris Olympics 2024: India Should Play For Amit Rohidas Against Germany In Semifinal, Opines Dhanraj Pillay | EXCLUSIVE

Amit Rohidas got a one-match suspension after being red-carded against Great Britain in the quarterfinal of Paris Olympics 2024.

New Delhi: The absence of Amit Rohidas in the defence shouldn’t be an excuse for the India team during their men’s hockey semifinal against Germany on Tuesday at the Paris Olympics 2024, but instead, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side should play for their teammate sitting on the bench, opined legendary Dhanraj Pillay. India’s key defender and first rusher Rohidas will miss India’s clash in the last four after the Odisha lad was handed a one-match suspension, for being red-carded in the quarterfinal against Great Britain.

This means India will have only 15 players available for the key clash, which is a big setback for the eight-time Olympic champions. Losing someone like Rohidas could be a disadvantage for any team in the world but Pillay felt that could actually be a motivation for the Indian team.

“We will be at a slightly disadvantageous position because of the absence of Amit Rohidas. India should play for Amit Rohidas and PR Sreejesh and whole of India against Germany,” Pillay told India.com in an exclusive interaction. In the absence of Rohidas, Manpreet Singh will play as the first rusher against Germany in the semifinal.

The 56-year-old, who played for India for 15 years, sounded confident that nobody force would be able to contain India for a gold medal if they win the semifinal. “If we can win today, nobody can touch Indian hockey to win the gold medal on top of the podium,” he added.

Notably, Rohidas reminded Pillay of his playing days. In a career that spanned over 15 years, Pillay appeared in four Olympics but was never able to win a medal. The closest he came towards an Olympic medal was in the 2000 Sydney Games when India lost to Poland in the quarterfinals.

Heaping praise on the Indian defender, Pillay stated that the defender’s red card was a blessing in disguise for India against Great Britain as it made the Men in Blue stronger mentally. “Amit Rohidas’ rush reminds me of my rush back then. When a ball comes at 150kmps at him, any player will get scared. But the job that Rohidas Ahas been doing, it’s creditable.

“His red card was a blessing (in disguise) and the way Sreejesh played, I think he was rock solid under the goal. There were 11 attempts and Sreejesh conceded just once. Secondly the forwardline worked very hard as they were coming back and giving support to the defence and full back, that is really commendable,” added Pillay, who played in over 400 matches for India.

He also praised head coach Craig Fulton and assistant coach Shivendra Singh for making the boys mentally strong. “Playing with 10 men against a side like Great Britain, you need to have a very good game-plan. I am sure head coach Craig Fulton and Shivendra Singh must have worked on if one player gets a red or yellow card then how we need to play for five or ten minutes. That kind of practice must have been done in training and that’s why they were mentally fit,” he signed off.