New Delhi: The India men’s hockey team defended their bronze medal from the Tokyo Olympics as they defeated a spirited Spanish side by 2-1. It was a remarkable game for the men in blue who won the game for the own Wall of Indian hockey PR Sreejesh.
After a long gap of 44 years, the Indian hockey team has again seen glimpses of its golden past as it won back-to-back medals in consecutive editions of the Olympics since the time of the Moscow 1980.
Bronze for Indian Men’s Hockey Team!! 🥉🇮🇳
4th Medal for India at Paris 2024 Olympics 🔥#INDvsESP #Hockey #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/xayxBAqXC9— The Riyan Sena! 🔮 (@notriyanparag) August 8, 2024
With this bronze, the Indian hockey team now has 13 medals overall in the Olympic history (both pre-independence and post-independence). Simultaneously, it also makes the game the most successful sport in India in this multi-sporting fiesta.
A feat that will be cherished for generations to come!
The Indian Hockey team shines bright at the Olympics, bringing home the Bronze Medal! This is even more special because it is their second consecutive Medal at the Olympics.
Their success is a triumph of skill,…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 8, 2024
What happened in the match?
The game started with the Indian side starting aggressively in the opening halves of the game as India looked to dominate the game from the start. However, La Roja struck back as their experienced drag-flicker Marc Miralles struck in the 18th minute through a penalty stroke.
There is one thing common to India’s 2011 World Cup win, Germany’s 2014 World Cup football win, and India’s bronze medal effort at the 2024 Olympics. Or rather, one man.
Mike Horn, perhaps the toughest man alive! I remember a conversation with him when he visited the KKR camp… pic.twitter.com/r1xJ4bgOxi— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) August 8, 2024
Post that initial jolt, the Indian team regrouped again as Harmanpreet Singh, the ever-reliant skipper of Indian hockey brought out his A-game and scored back-to-back goals from the penalty corners (PC). The first PC came towards the fag end of the 2nd quarter when only a few seconds were left. The second goal came in the third quarter courtesy of a beautiful stick work to score the goal from a deflection.
🇮🇳🥉 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗭𝗘! Many congratulations to the men's hockey team on securing a second consecutive Olympic Bronze medal after previously winning it at 🇯🇵 Tokyo 2020.
🔥 The Indian men's hockey team last won back-to-back Bronze medals in the 1968 and 1972… pic.twitter.com/Yl4gQpj7vI
— India at Paris 2024 Olympics (@sportwalkmedia) August 8, 2024
That goal proved to be a decisive blow for La Roja as the Indian defence and players at the back line defended desperately to prevent the Spaniards from scoring. Although Spain looked forward to mount an aggressive press by even taking out their goalkeeper to put in an extra outfield player, it was too little too late for the Spaniards to scramble the foil the winning celebrations of the entire nation!
