Kolkata: The Olympic fever is slowly catching up with barely three weeks to go, despite the uncertainty over whether it’s going to be a closed door affair in Tokyo. Like every edition of the Games over the past four decades, the Indian hockey fans’ aspirations are again on the upswing about ending the medal drought - and Zafar Iqbal - a member of Moscow 1980 when they last won the gold medal is not immune to it.
“The men’s team is ranked fourth in the world now, which in itself is a great achievement. I kept an eye on their performances in the tour against Argentina, where they played well,’’ said 65-year-old Iqbal, who played under the captaincy of Vasudevan Baskaran in 1980 before being the captain himself four years later in Los Angeles 1984.
The memory of 1980 will remain with me forever. It was more than a personal achievement as it was such a big moment for the country as well. It was the eighth gold medal in hockey for the country, which is a record that will surely stand for a long long time
‘‘I just have to say that the Olympic atmosphere is very different from test games. There is no room for any slip-ups or experiments here, and self-belief and self-determination in each player are going to be the most valuable traits for the team,” he said in a chat with Hockey India.
It may have been four decades since his moment of glory, but the much feared left inside forward still remembers every frame of it. “The memory of 1980 will remain with me forever. It was more than a personal achievement as it was such a big moment for the country as well. It was the eighth gold medal in hockey for the country, which is a record that will surely stand for a long long time,’’ he said.
“It was a tough campaign for us because most of the members in that team were young players and debutants at the Olympics. I believe only Vasudevan Baskaran and goalkeeper Bir Bahadur Chhetri had played in the 1976 Olympics previously. I remember that the final against Spain was a really difficult match. Mohammed Shahid was our key player in the final, and he played extraordinarily that day.”
A former coach of the national team as well, Iqbal had the distinction of being the flagbearer for the Indian Olympic contingent in the opening ceremony at the ‘84 Los Angeles Olympics.
While Iqbal had a distinguished playing career filled with many such highlights, he recalled one particular match as his fondest personal memory. “I still remember the 1982 Champions trophy encounter against Pakistan in Holland. We were trailing 3-0 against our rivals in the early phase of that game, and we staged a huge comeback to win that game 5-4 in the end. Rajinder Singh Jr. scored three goals in that game to lead us to a memorable win. That was a beautiful feeling.”
