Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that the exceptional performance of the men's and women's hockey teams has captured the imagination of India.
"The exceptional performance of the Men's and Women's Hockey Team has captured the imagination of our entire nation. There is a renewed interest towards Hockey that is emerging across the length and breadth of India. This is a very positive sign for the coming times," PM Modi tweeted.
For the men's team, it took 41 years, but the dream of every Indian was finally realised on Thursday as they defeated Germany 5-4 to win the bronze medal at the Oi Hockey Stadium -- North Pitch. The Men in Blue showed absolute resilience, strength, and winning spirit to register a remarkable comeback win against a strong German team.
Meanwhile, earlier on Friday, the Indian women's team went down fighting against Great Britain 3-4. With this loss, the Indian women's team finished fourth while team Great Britain captured their third consecutive Olympic medal. Great Britain scored through Ellie Rayer (16th minute), Sarah Robertson (24th), Hollie Pearne-Webb (35th), and Grace Balsdon (48th). India hit back via Gurjit Kaur (25th and 26th) and Vandana Katariya (29th) but were unable to find the late equaliser.
It ended a dream run for the Indian women's hockey team that had finished last at Rio 2016, having qualified for the Olympics after 36 years, and for a side that had lost its first three group games at Tokyo 2020, the third to Great Britain 1-4.
( With inputs from ANI )
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