Sports

India's historical triumph at Tokyo Olympics: Indian hockey team wins a medal after 41 years!

By alagu, 05 August, 2021
Tokyo Olympics 2021, Olympics, India

It's a bright and historical start of the day for India at the Tokyo Olympics as the Indian Hockey team carves a remarkable history of winning a medal in the Olympics after 41 years. On Thursday, the Indian hockey team has put a brilliant show in a must-win match and successfully defeated Germany to assure a Bronze medal for the country. As the Indian team shares the medal podium, they had dotted up the four-decade wait by presenting a historical triumph in a spectacle-less battle at Tokyo. 

The Indian hockey team has won the gold medal eight times at the Olympics, which is a Himalayan feat that no other country has achieved. Lastly, the Indian team has won the gold medal at the 1980 Moscow games and the following tournaments for the last four decades had poured setbacks for the team as they returned empty. Being the national game, the campaign of the hockey team, amid starving for the medal, has given hope that it's time to rewrite history. 

The young talents had given a promising campaign for the country and were building a winning momentum. The battle for the Bronze has come after the Indian had lost the semifinals to Belgium 5-2. As their stint for entering the finals was vanished by the European country, the Indian team hoped to settle for a bronze medal and in a must-win match for the medal, India took on Germany on Thursday as the whole country was spectating the nail-biting match. 

The battle was too close and India's Simranjeet Singh scored a brace while Hardik Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, and Rupinder Pal Singh were the other goal-getters for India. It was a historical men-in-blue match for Indian Hockey by eventually making one of the most memorable comebacks in the history of the game. By ousting Germany from the tournament, the Indian hockey team has won the Bronze medal and rewritten history after 41 years, and indeed brought big cheers for the country.

It's the third hockey bronze medal, for the eight-time gold winners, in the history of the Olympics. The other two Bronze medals came in the 1968 Mexico City games and the 1972 Munich games. India has defeated Germany by scoring five goals while the latter had ended up with four goals. For Germany, which is world no 5 in hockey, the defeat was a big blow to its medal battle. With winning the bronze medal, India has won four medals in the Tokyo Olympics - one silver and three bronzes, with another silver on the way from Ravi Kumar Lahiya. 

After presenting the historical triumph after 41 years, the Indian hockey team has been filled with commendations from the political leaders and celebrities. President Ram Nath Kovind took to Twitter and wrote, "Congratulations to our men's hockey team for winning an Olympic Medal in hockey after 41 years. The team showed exceptional skills, resilience & determination to win. This historic victory will start a new era in hockey and will inspire the youth to take up and excel in the sport." 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote, "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." Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and wrote, "Congratulations to Indian Men’s Hockey Team! This is a big moment- the whole country is proud of your achievement. Well-deserved victory! " 

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took to Twitter and wrote, "Brilliant in Blue  Congratulations Indian Men’s #Hockey Team on the spectacular victory to give us an Olympic medal after 41 long years. This historic win at #Tokyo2020 will inspire generation of sportspersons. All the very best for the future." Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar wrote, "Congratulations to each & every member of the hockey contingent on winning the #Bronze for India! A fantastic hard-fought win…The penalty corner save by Sreejesh in the dying moments of the game was amazing. Entire nation is immensely proud!"

 

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