A brave and determined Indian women's hockey team etched its name in the history books by entering the Olympic Games semifinals for the first time, stunning three-time champions and world no.2 Australia 1-0 in an intense last-eight tie.
As scores of celebs congratulated the team, several netizens recalled the iconic sports drama 'Chak De! India' starring Shah Rukh Khan.
Actress Vidya Malavade, who essayed the role of the team captain, took to Instagram and shared a picture of the reel vs real team.
She captioned it as, “& Indian Womens Hockey Team creates HISTORY .. at the Tokyo Olympics beating the World No 2 Team Australia 1-0 My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since morning & I was just a part of the reel ..This .. These women are the REAL DEAL ..such PRIDE .. such GRIT .. so much POWER .. Team INDIA Onwards & Upwards ladies ..#JAIHIND 🇮🇳 Here’s wishing Rani & her team all the very very best .. Go conquer gurls.”
On the other hand, her co-star Sagarika Ghatge shared a post stating, “The Indian women’s hockey team created history today by entering the Olympics semifinals for the first time - congratulations to the whole team and more power to our women.”
Coming into the match, the odds were totally against India as in world no.2 Australia, a mighty unbeaten opponent, awaited them.
But the Indians, determined to prove a point, produced a strong and brave performance to eke out the narrow win over the Hockeyroos.
Drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur rose to the occasion when it mattered and converted India's lone penalty corner in the 22nd minute to surprise the Australians.
India's best performance in the Olympics came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games where they finished fourth out of six teams.
The Rani Rampal-led side will play Argentina in the semifinal on Wednesday.
