India’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh was overjoyed after they defeated Spain by 2-1 in the Bronze medal match in the Paris Olympics on Thursday. The Men in Blue won the Bronze in the Tokyo Olympics and this is the first time after 52 years that they have won back to back Hockey Olympic medals after last winning consecutively in 1968 and 1972.
Spain was the first to take lead after Marc Miralles scored through a penalty stroke after Manpreet Singh’s tackle in the D didn’t go according to plan. However, India bounced back with their skipper Harmanpreet Singh finding the back of the net in the 30th and 33rd minute through penalty corners to help his team claim the Bronze medal.
This was India’s veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh’s last match in the Indian colours and he was brilliant in front of the goal throughout the whole campaign.
“The Olympic stage is something we have to wait a long time for, but our mindset is to come here and play to win. Sometimes the result isn’t in our favour, but it’s destiny. Our dream was gold, and there were high expectations on us. I want to say sorry for not meeting those expectations, but this medal means everything to us. For India, it’s a significant achievement to win back-to-back bronze medals,” said the Indian skipper.
Showering praise on Sreejesh, Harmanpreet said, “Some of the boys on our team are as young as Sreejesh’s career is long. His journey has been stellar, and it was an emotional moment for us. We are thrilled to have won the bronze medal for the country and for Sreejesh.”
The captain admitted that Indian hockey is growing and they will try to do even better in the next Olympics in 2028, which will be hosted by Los Angeles.
“A medal is a medal; whether it’s from Tokyo or Paris, what matters is that we won back-to-back. Hockey in India is growing, and we are grateful to our supporters. Hockey’s history is rich, and we are working to make it even bigger. Next time, we aim to do even better,” stated a humble Harmanpreet.
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