Indian men’s hockey team wins bronze; first Olympic medal in hockey since 1980
TOKYO: India’s 41-year wait for an Olympic hockey medal came to an end on Thursday as they beat Germany to clinch the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The men in blue won their first medal since the 1980 Moscow Olympics, defeating Germany 5-4 in a nail-biter.
India had to come back from behind twice in the match to equalise the scores and then move on to grab the lead. Germany took an early lead, with Timur Oruz scoring within the opening two minutes of the game, and posed a threat to India throughout the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Simranjeet Singh scored for India, but defensive errors allowed Germany to score two more back-to-back goals and put pressure on India. India was in danger, but Hardik Singh and Harmanpreet Singh scored two penalty corners to tie the game at 3-3 before halftime.
The third quarter went entirely in India’s favour, with Rupinder Pal Singh converting a penalty stroke and Simranjeet Singh scoring from open play to extend the nation’s lead.
Lucas Windfeder scored in the final quarter to give Germany hope again, but it was not enough to push the game to the shootouts. Germany was awarded a penalty corner in the last minutes of the game, but India goalie PR Sreejesh made a stunning save to earn India’s fourth medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
With the exception of the 7-1 defeat over Australia and the 5-2 semifinal loss to World Champions Belgium, Team India had a fantastic journey in Tokyo. Indian women will face Great Britain in the bronze medal match on Friday.
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