Brilliance in bronze!

The Maharashtra hockey team with their bronze medals at the 36th National Games in Rajkot on Tuesday

A Devindar Walmiki-inspired Maharashtra hockey team won the bronze medal at the National Games after 11 long years on Tuesday, beating Haryana 3-2 via shootout in Rajkot after the scores read 2-2 at the end of regulation time.

Vikram Pillay, who was the captain of the bronze-winning state outfit 11 years ago, is the team's manager this time.

Mixed feelings

There were mixed feelings for the skipper Walmiki though, who, in his maiden National Games appearance, felt his team was good enough for the gold. "We won all our league matches convincingly and then beat a strong Jharkhand side in the quarter-finals. In the semis, we rallied from 0-3 down against Uttar Pradesh to 3-3 only to go down in a close shootout. If we would have won that semi-final shootout, the gold medal was definitely ours," Walmiki told mid-day moments after the bronze medal win. Karnataka beat UP via shootout to win the gold.

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The bronze medal is no mean feat though, insisted Walmiki, a 2016 Rio Olympian. "To finish as the third best hockey team in the country is a great achievement. We conceded just six field goals throughout the tournament and scored more than 30. Yuvraj [Walmiki] finished as the tournament's highest scorer with 13 goals, while I netted seven. The entire team have worked hard for this medal. Our goalkeeper Suraj [Karkera] was excellent under the bar," added Walmiki.

Just like in their semi-final, Maharashtra were trailing in the final, by two goals, before Yuvraj and Devindar restored parity. Then, in the shootout, Devindar opened the scoring after which Talib Shah made it 2-0. Haryana fumbled in their attempt and a brilliant 3D effort [aerial dribble] by Darshan Gaonkar sealed the deal for Maharashtra.

Gaonkar, 21, entered the Haryana striking circle for his shootout attempt with the ball sweetly balancing on his stick and then calmly lobbed it over the onrushing Haryana goalkeeper. Skipper Walmiki was all praise for the youngster.

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Darshan's 3D show

"Darshan's 3D game is brilliant, but to execute that particular shot in the shootout of a crucial match like this is even more special. This bronze medal is dedicated to youngsters like him. I hope this medal inspires more players from the state to take up the game," Walmiki signed off.