Amit Rohidas: A pillar in defence, meet Indian hockey team’s Mr Dependable

From being an in-and-out player to becoming an integral part of the Indian hockey team, Amit Rohidas has quietly risen up the ranks with some outstanding performances in recent years.

Amit Rohidas made his senior India debut in 2013 but it took him a while to become the team’s mainstay in defence.

The Indian hockey player has over 190 international caps and more than 25 international goals despite playing as a specialist defender. Rohidas was the Indian vice-captain at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 and also helped the team win the gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou later in the same year.

Amit Rohidas was a key member of the Indian teams that won bronze medals at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics. He also helped India win silver at the Commonwealth Games 2022 with his defensive abilities.

With a brilliant sense of anticipation, Rohidas is a pillar of strength at defence. He is a gutsy and speedy rusher and can neutralise the impact of menacing drag-flicks with his interception and angles.

Where was Amit Rohidas born

Amit Rohidas was born on May 10, 1993, to a farming family in Saunamara village of Sundergarh district in Odisha. Though Sundergarh district is regarded as a nursery of budding hockey talents in India and has produced legends like Dilip Tirkey, Amit Rohidas was the first from his family to develop a keen interest in hockey.

Amit Rohidas took up hockey after watching Dilip Tirkey play in Sundergarh. In 2004, Rohidas got admission in Panposh Sports Hostel and started upgrading his hockey skills at the age of 11.

Amit Rohidas started his career as a goal-keeper, then tried his luck as a full-time forward, but eventually switched to be a defender on the advice of his coach Bijay Lakra.

The move paid off for Rohidas. His fearless approach made him a regular starter in Odisha’s state hockey team. Consistent performances for Odisha earned Rohidas his first major breakthrough on the national level in 2009. He was selected in the Indian squad for the 2009 Junior Asia Cup in Myanmar where Rohidas ended up as the player of the tournament.

Four years later, Amit Rohidas became the vice-captain of the Indian under-21 team and made his senior debut for India at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia.

Amit Rohidas’ achievements and medals

Amit Rohidas made his senior debut for India in 2013 and was a member of the silver medal-winning team at the Asia Cup that year.

But with already established defenders like Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra and Harmanpreet Singh among others in the Indian squad, Amit Rohidas struggled to break into the senior team consistently over the next few years.

“I was out of the senior camp from 2014 to 2017 and that was a difficult time for me,” Rohidas told the Scroll website.

However, Amit Rohidas, known for his fearless approach on the field, refused to give up despite failing to make the Indian team consistently in those years.

Domestically, Amit Rohidas played for the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB). He worked with Sunil Kumar Singh, the RSPB head coach, to add the missing pieces to his game and the results soon followed.

After being in and out of the side between 2014 and 2017, Amit Rohidas impressed the national selectors with his performances during India’s tour of Europe in August 2017, where India beat the Netherlands twice.

In September, Rohidas was made the vice-captain of the India A team that finished fourth in the Australian Hockey League.

Rohidas was part of the Indian hockey team that won the 2017 Asia Cup in Dhaka and made the Indian squad for the Commonwealth Games and FIH World Cup in 2018.

Though India failed to clinch a medal at the Commonwealth Games and the hockey World Cup, they won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta a few months later. Later, India bagged a silver at the Champions Trophy 2018 in the Netherlands.

A medal on Olympic debut

Rohidas played an important role in India’s qualifying campaign for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. India’s historic campaign at Tokyo 2020 had many notable performers but Amit Rohidas’ ability to thwart penalty-corner specialists stood out from the rest.

In his pursuit of saving as many goals as possible, Amit Rohidas took many brutal blows but eventually got back on his feet every time to help the Indian hockey team win an Olympic medal, a bronze, after 41 years.

India won four of their five group matches at Tokyo 2020 and beat Great Britain 3-1 in the quarter-finals to set up a semi-final against eventual champions Belgium.

While India lost the semi-final 5-2 against Belgium despite leading 2-1 at one stage, India, particularly Amit Rohidas, brought his top game against four-time Olympic champions Germany in the bronze medal play-off.

India overturned a 3-1 deficit to lead the Germans 5-3 in the third quarter. Stung by the Indian comeback, Germany went into full attack mode.

Despite Germany earning multiple corners, the Indian backline and Amit Rohidas stood strong and denied Germany any immediate openings.

The Rio 2016 silver medallists Germany pulled one back in the fourth quarter and earned 13 penalty corners during the course of the match. However, India, courtesy of some brave defending, managed to hang on by a thread and win an Olympic bronze medal.

In 2021, Amit Rohidas was presented the Arjuna Award - India’s second-highest honour for sportspersons, for his efforts at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

In March 2022, Amit Rohidas captained India for the first time in the FIH Pro League. At the Commonwealth Games 2022, Amit Rohidas, under the captaincy of Manpreet Singh, was crucial in India’s silver medal finish in Birmingham.

Rohidas was the vice-captain of the Indian team at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2023. He scored India’s first goal in the competition in the opening match against Spain and helped the hosts register a 2-0 victory. The Indian hockey team stayed unbeaten in the group stage but finished second on the points table due to an inferior goal difference as compared to England. India eventually crashed out in the cross-overs for a place in the quarter-finals after losing to New Zealand in the penalty shoot-out.

Amit Rohidas achieved the milestone of playing 150 international matches for India during the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai later that year. India went on to win the gold medal and continued their golden run at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou to qualify for the Olympics.

Amit Rohidas then scored six goals for India at the Asian Games, including a crucial strike in the semi-final against the Republic of Korea, which helped India win 5-3. Rohidas once again hit the back of the board in the final against Japan in India’s 5-1 victory.

Amit Rohidas was the vice-captain of the Indian hockey team at Paris 2024. Thanks to his brave defending throughout the tournament, India went on to win the bronze medal.

Amit Rohidas hockey achievements

• Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Bronze medal
• Paris 2024 Olympic - Bronze medal
• Asian Games 2023 - Gold medal
• Asian Games 2018 - Bronze Medal
• Asian Champions Trophy 2023 - Gold medal
• Asian Champions Trophy 2016 - Gold medal
• Asian Champions Trophy 2018 - Gold medal
• Asian Champions Trophy 2012 - Silver medal
• Asian Champions Trophy 2021 - Bronze medal
• Commonwealth Games 2022 - Silver medal
• Champions Trophy 2018 - Silver medal
• Hockey World League 2016-17 - Bronze medal
• Asia Cup 2017 - Gold medal
• Asia Cup 2013 - Silver medal
• Junior Asia Cup 2012 - Bronze medal