New Delhi [India], August 10 : Indian men's hockey defender Jarmanpreet Singh said that the head coach Craig Fulton has changed the style of the team's play since his arrival and the team aims to change the colour of their Olympic medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
After clinching the bronze medal in men's hockey at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, the Indian men's hockey team arrived at New Delhi Airport on Saturday morning.
Speaking to ANI, Jarmanpreet said that Craig, who joined the team as head coach in March 2023, has helped team a lot by providing information about the play style of other teams/players. He also talked about how the Indian team always wants to win the gold for their nation.
"We wanted to win the gold, but whatever had to happen, happened, as per god's wishes. After the arrival of a new coach, we have been doing great and brought about change in our hockey. You must have watched his interviews, heard about his thinking. He gives us information about other teams and their players, which helps us a lot. We would be going to the LA 2028 Olympics to change the colour of our medal to gold. This is our plan always," said Jarmanpreet.
Midfielder Rajkumar Pal, another important member of the bronze medal-winning team, said that the team got a lot of love from their countrymen and the central government has supported the team a lot.
"We have been getting a lot of love from our country. We had won the bronze at Tokyo and wanted to change the colour of our medal. We played well in the final and lost to Germany. It was not our day. The Indian government has supported us a lot. We expected to win the gold though. In the next Olympics, we would like to win the gold for our country. Our game has improved, we have confidence and belief that we can beat any team," said Rajkumar to ANI.
Earlier on Thursday, a brace from skipper Harmanpreet Singh and effortless saves by PR Sreejesh secured a 2-1 win over Spain at the Yves du Manoir Stadium, earning India the bronze medal.
Playing in an electrifying atmosphere, the Indian team added a fourth medal to their tally at the Paris Olympics, overcoming a 0-1 deficit after the first quarter.
Sreejesh, who was playing his last game for India, was overcome with emotion as the rest of the team joined him to celebrate this momentous occasion in Indian hockey history.
India won consecutive bronze hockey medals for the first time in 52 years, since the 1972 Munich Games.
Under the guidance of coach Craig Fulton, India made history by securing back-to-back bronze medals at the Olympics. Goals from Harmanpreet Singh (30', 33') were enough to seal the victory. Marc Miralles (18') was the lone goal-scorer for Spain.
India had an upper hand in their head-to-head record against Spain at the Olympics, winning seven out of their ten meetings.
Emotions ran high with India's goalkeeper, PR Sreejesh playing his final international game. He was honoured with the title of the 'God of Indian Modern Hockey' by Hockey India before the bronze medal game.
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