Pause, rewind, play: Indian hockey legend Dhanraj Pillay and his Olympic heartbreaks

Heading into the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Dhanraj Pillay was upbeat about India’s chances of winning a medal in hockey. He was 32 at the time, still rated as one of the best in the game, and was confident the Indian team could go toe-to-toe with the likes of Netherlands, Germany and Australia on the biggest stage.

The last time India’s men’s hockey team had won an Olympic medal was way back in 1980 when they clinched gold in Moscow. But Pillay was full of optimism ahead of the Sydney Games.

After all, just two years earlier, he had guided India to their biggest triumph in decades. At the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, he was the captain of the team and the leading goal-scorer in the tournament as India bagged the gold medal.

In an interview with Rediff, just weeks before the 2000 Olympics, Pillay had said the Sydney Games would be his last and he wished to go out with a bang.

“That has always been my wish, and only goal left (winning an Olympic gold),” he had said. “I hope to realise it this time. Something tells me this team can win the gold… This will be my last Olympics. I…

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