'The prowess of our forward line was our greatest strength in the 1980 Olympics,' says MM Somaya
In the seventh article of Hockey India’s Flashback Series, former India Captain and Midfielder MM Somaya fondly recalled the prowess of the Indian team’s forward line which helped the side win the Gold Medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Tokyo 2020: Indian hockey team one of the contenders for medal, says Shivendra Singh
“We had a very attacking forward line at the 1980 Olympics. We played with five forwards and most of our strategy was attack-oriented. We depended on our five forwards to put pressure on the opposition and that was the main strength of the team. Our strategy of playing an all-out attack game really helped us in the tournament and eventually win to the Final against Spain 4-3,” said the 62-year-old.
Somaya, who also played in the 1984 Olympics and the 1988 Olympics, spoke about his excitement of making his India debut at the 1980 Olympics, “The 1980 Olympics was my first international competition experience. I never played for India before the Olympics. It was very exciting to make my debut for India at the Olympics. We played against relatively easier opponents in the initial stages of the 1980 Olympics, so I had some time to find my feet in the international circuit. I was fortunate that I had a good Coach in Balkrishan Singh and a good Captain in Vasudevan Baskaran and therefore I could perform to the best of my abilities.”
Legendary India hockey player BP Govinda recalls his equaliser in Bronze Medal match in Munich Olympics
The former India Captain didn’t just play for the country for the first time at the Moscow Olympics, but also played on an AstroTurf hockey pitch for the first time in his life. Somaya explained how the Indian team prepared for the fast nature of the AstroTurf pitches by practicing on gravel hockey pitches before the Olympics.
