Former India men's hockey captain Ashok Kumar was all praise for the women's team as they made a strong Australian side helpless in the quarterfinal match in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
The Indian women's hockey team scripted history on Monday here at Oi Hockey Stadium -- North Pitch -- as they qualified for the semi-finals of the Olympics for the very first time after defeating Australia 1-0.
"Definitely, a proud moment that the Indian women's hockey team has provided us along with the men's team. It was not a win by fluke as the team played as a unit. They played as a spirited team and were strong in all departments," Ashok Kumar told ANI.
"We pushed Australia which is a very strong team in looking helpless and credit goes to the Indian team's forward line, defence and goalkeeper Savita. With seven penalty corners to Australia, we didn't concede any goal because of goalkeeper and defence. Indian team showed team spirit and killing instinct."
"With our next opponent Argentina, we are very close to a medal. India wants a yellow medal as this is our heritage. This opportunity comes every 4 years so it's very huge for players," Ashok pointed.
In what comes as the greatest moment for women's hockey in India, Gurjit Kaur scored the lone goal in the match during the first half through a penalty corner in a very tightly contested match. On Sunday, the men's hockey team also reached the semi-finals after Manpreet Singh's side defeated Great Britain 3-1.
( With inputs from ANI )
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