New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS): The Indian men’s hockey team returned from the Paris Olympics campaign filled with new records, with a bronze medal on Saturday. The 16-member squad, which boasted 11 members from the bronze-winning team in the Tokyo Olympics, created history by winning back-to-back medals for the first time since the 1972 Olympics in Munich.
Greeted upon arrival by family and hordes of fans, Harmanpreet Singh failed to contain his emotions, “It is very heart-warming to see Indian fans come out to receive and congratulate us for the Bronze medal at Paris 2024 Olympics. The Team left no stone unturned to prepare for the Olympics and to see your efforts bear fruit, to see the whole country rejoice in our victory, is an inexplicable feeling,” he said.
The Paris 2024 Olympics saw the Indian team play scintillating hockey at times; performances that saw them defeat Australia by 3-2, for the first time after 52 years in the Olympics. They pulled out another rabbit from the hat in the quarter-finals, an unreal performance by every single member of the team against Great Britain, where they defended with a man down for over 40 minutes to force penalty shootouts and win by 4-2, courtesy of heroics from PR Sreejesh.
The 25-year-old vice-captain and two-time bronze medallist Hardik Singh highlighted the camaraderie in the squad saying,” The trust we had in each other, the unshakeable belief that a teammate will step right up to cover up if you miss a step, is what pushed us to always give our best on the field. I think the match against Great Britain was when it really shined through. The midfielders had the forwards’ back, the defenders supported the midfielders, and if all else failed we had the big man, PR Sreejesh, between the sticks who bailed us out on numerous occasions.”
The wall of Indian hockey, legendary goalkeeper, PR Sreejesh announced that he would retire before heading to Paris. Vowing to ‘Win it for Sreejesh’, the Indian team made it all the way to the bronze medal match against Spain. Harmanpreet Singh, the top scorer of the Paris 2024 Olympics with 10 goals, netted a brace to seal their victory in the do-or-die match.
“The Paris 2024 Olympics turned out to be an unforgettable experience, we will cherish these memories for some time to come. With this Bronze medal, the Team has proved that Indian Hockey is back on track. We are a force to be reckoned with and on our day, we can really be unstoppable. All that we need is belief in our Team and the unwavering support of Indian hockey fans. So, I request them to continue loving hockey, continue supporting us and we will win it all for you,” the captain Harmanpreet signed off with a plea.