India had to win the match against Britain, to avoid the ignominy of finishing 8th in the Olympics. Since its debut in the 1928 Amsterdam Games, India has never finished lower than 7th.

The Indian defence had to be extra careful not to concede any penalty corners. Britain had the specialist Calum Giles, who came on to the field only for taking penalty corners, and who had a good run in the tournament.

A steady downpour that lashed Atlanta delayed the start of the game by an hour. India started off well, and twice went into the lead in the first half. Baljit Singh Dhillon opened the account in the second minute. Jason Shaw neutralized the lead with a field goal in the 24th minute. Yet again India went into the lead when Ramandeep Singh converted a penalty stroke. It was good to see Coach Cedric persisting with Ramandeep for the stroke, despite the fact that his missed stroke cost India the match against South Korea. India went into half time with a one goal lead.

Great Britain launched an onslaught in the second half, pumping in three goals in a space of 13 minutes. Jason Laslett equalled the scores in the 43rd minute. Jon Wyatt gave Britain their first lead of the match by scoring in the 53rd minute. Three minutes later, Chris Mayer slammed in a goal to put the issue beyond doubt.

India were totally outplayed by Britain in the second half, and seemed too stunned to launch any counter attack. With only a minute left to play, Pargat Singh scored a consolation goal off India's fourth penalty corner to reduce the margin for India. By then it was all over. In the playoff for the 5th - 8th positions, India had come 8th and last.

India's strategy of containing Britain's penalty corners failed. Britain earned nine penalty corners to India's four. India were lucky that Britain could convert only one of them. But the nine penalty corners underscored Britain's total domination of the match against India.

India has had its worst ever performance at the Olympics. After winning the gold at Moscow (1980), India slipped to 5th at Los Angeles (1984), 6th at Seoul (1988), 7th at Barcelona (1992) and now 8th at Atlanta (1996). How the mighty have fallen.

Heads are bound to roll for India's disgraceful performance. A team which was expected to win at least a medal has plumbed the depths of hockey. Cedric D'Souza has to resign for failing to deliver. The reasons would be inability to translate midfield superiority into goals, failing to hold on to leads, poor variations in penalty corners resulting in a pathetic conversion percentage, and inability to defend penalty corners. Our players were lacking in basics, and for this Cedric, Marcellus, and Divnain have to go. They got all the support they need from the Federation, Government and sponsors. They got their say for the training camps, player allowances and international exposure. And yet, this Centennial Olympics has turned out to be a disaster for Indian Hockey.

The team pyschologist has also failed for not imparting to our boys the feelings of mental toughness, having confidence in themselves, and not choking under pressure situations. No team in Atlanta gave up as easily as India did.

India may have to look out for a foreign coach. India has to give full freedom to the coach. If he decides on a 3-3-3-1 and not the 5-3-2-1 pyramid, so be it. If he insists on bringing his own assistant coaches, we should accept. He should have complete freedom in player selection. Pakistan experimented with Hans Jorritsma of Holland, who successfully guided them to victory at the World Cup at Sydney (1994). In the least, India needs a foreign coach for penalty corners. His target would be a minimum of 25% penalty corner conversion rate at all major international tournaments.

The score card for the players is as follows. Pargat Singh, who played his 300th international for India during the Olympics, has to make way for younger blood. Otherwise he would be a liability to the team, just like Carsten Fischer was for Germany. India's left wing failed, though Gavin Ferreira sparkled against Spain and South Korea. The goal keeping was off the mark and Ashish Ballal has to be recalled. Only Ramandeep Singh and Anil Aldrin stood out in the defence, while forwards Dhanraj and Mukesh tormented the opposition defences with their speed and thrusts.

The score card for India reads - Lowest ever position in the Olympics, having to qualify for the next Olympics, not eligible for Champions Trophy, and only the third best in Asia. As Nike would have put it, India has not come 8th - it has lost positions 1-7. As the Reebok commercial on Indian hockey (which has got good air time in India) laments Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par Woh Kahan Hai.