He had started with his routine exercises in the morning at 5 am. But things changed at 8 am when he got a call from Tata sports secretary Eddie Sequeira. One of the finest goalkeepers of his era, Pinto said. “It’s a sad day for Indian hockey, but you could see it coming.”

Though anguished on hearing about India’s latest debacle, Pinto mellowed down to say a few words in defence of the boys: “We don’t have enough astro-turf surfaces and therefore cannot complain. It takes time to adapt.”

And without batting an eyelid added: “The European countries have mended the rules in hockey to suit their needs.”

Pinto, who came to India from Nairobi at the age of eight, was famous for his antics under the goal. He remembers those crucial matches at the London Olympics and says, “In the first semi-final, Pakistan went down to England and the mood in the team was that Holland would also beat us.” But all their fears were put to rest when a charged-up India edged out the Dutch 2-1 and the role played by Pinto in that win went down into the annals of hockey history.

Pinto could have made it to the 1936 Berlin Olympics at the age of 30, but during the practice match in Kolkata, he hurt his collar bone and had blood oozing from his ears to be hospitalised for three weeks. Unperturbed by that knock, he continued to play the sport as he believed in his abilities. However, he again missed the bus for the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 citing pressure politics from dominant lobbies.

But today, the man is all smiles and is content holding the only Olympic medal he won for his country. Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing another one of those in a hurry.