India wins bronze medal in men's hockey in Tokyo Olympics, defeats Germany 5-4
Premium- India vs Germany Bronze match: It is India's third hockey bronze medal in the history of the Olympics
Indian men's hockey team today displayed a great game of counter-attacking play as it won defeated Germany 5-4 in the bronze medal play-offs at the Tokyo Olympics today. Indian men's hockey team won an Olympic medal after a gap of 41 years. India's last of the eight Olympic golds came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games.
The eight-time former gold-winners, who battled a heartbreaking slump in the last four decades, made the resurgence of the last couple of years count in the best way possible with an Olympic medal.
India came back from a two-goal deficit to take a two-goal lead at the end of the third quarter. Germany reduced the deficit as in the q4 when it scored a goal from the penalty corner. Earlier at the half-time, Team India who were1-3 down to equalising 3-3 level at the half-time break.
Goalscorers for India
Simranjeet Singh (17th, 34th minutes) scored a brace, while Hardik Singh (27th), Harmanpreet Singh (29th) and Rupinder Pal Singh (31st) were the other goal getters for India.
Germany's goals were scored by Timur Oruz (2nd), Niklas Wellen (24th), Benedikt Furk (25th) and Lukas Windfeder (48th).
There were tears and hugs on the field as the Indians led by Manpreet Singh and coached by Australian Graham Reid savoured the historic moment.
It is India's third hockey bronze medal in the history of the Olympics.
The other two came in 1968 Mexico City and the 1972 Munich Games.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the men's hockey team after it won the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics. He tweeted,"Historic! A day that will be etched in the memory of every Indian. Congratulations to our Men’s Hockey Team for bringing home the Bronze. With this feat, they have captured the imagination of the entire nation, especially our youth. India is proud of our Hockey team. Field hockey stick and ball."
"I think we should just forget about what happened in the semi-final and just put all our focus and energy into the game against Germany. The team has the experience of playing them in recent times. We are ready for the challenge," said Manpreet Singh on the eve of the bronze medal play-off match.
He further stated: "We have the entire country's support. We even had the Hono'ble Prime Minister call us and wish us after the semi-final loss. He asked us to not feel disappointed and just look forward to playing well on Thursday and that's what we plan to do. We are pumped up for the game."
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