SYDNEY, SEPTEMBER 26: The flame lit fast, burnt steadily but then faded away. In typically fickle fashion, the Indians beat Spain and held the Australians to a draw in their backyard but lost to the Koreans. Back home, the optimism never flagged, the belief in the boys never wavered. Until the death-blow from Tomasz Cichy two minutes and 10 seconds from time.That one masterful stroke of Cichy's reduced a team of men to boys. Suddenly, they seemed winded, the fight gone out of them. The pressure they'd been piling on the Poles suddenly eased off, the will to win replaced by drooping shoulders.For 70 minutes, though, the team enjoyed the rare status of being watched by millions back home. It was, and hockey lovers shouldn't take offence, just like cricket: At street-corners, in front of display windows, in offices and community centres, people tuned in to see how the team would fare. The shouts of joy when Tirkey scored could have been Kumble scalping Klusener or Sachin heaving McGrath over long-on.The tension was palpable; it had already been heightened by news earlier in the day that Pakistan had qualified for the semis. So there was no contemplating the possibility of failure. For the next 15 minutes after the goal, fingernails were chewed and silent prayers offered. Then along came Cichy and soon the crowds every where fell into a stunned silence before melting into the falling dusk.For the record, the draw prevented India from entering the semi-finals as they finished third in the six-team pool behind group champions Australia and runners-up South Korea. Australia topped the group with 11 points, while South Korea, who tied on points and goal difference with India, finished second by virtue of having beaten the latter in their league clash.Afterwards, coach Vasudevan Baskaran blamed the team's profligacy for their exit from the medal race. ``We paid for not taking the chances that came our way,'' he said, adding that the rain - it poured through the match - didn't help matters.So now it's all down to Gurcharan. He takes on Ukraine's southpaw Andrei Fedtchouk in the 81 kg quarter-final bout and a win would put him in the medal round.
