Former Indian Hockey player and captain Dilip Tirkey congratulated the Indian Hockey team for winning the bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics on Thursday.
Speaking to ANI, Tirkey said that this win will be an important one for India's future generations.
"Congratulations. As a player, we were waiting for this medal for a long time and now our young players have won it. This win will motivate the upcoming generation of hockey players and Olympics aspirants in Hockey and restore their confidence and trust in Indian Hockey. We always expected our boys to do well," he said.
He also thanked everyone who made this win possible, saying: "I would like to thank the players, coaches, officials, Hockey India. Also, I would like to thank Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik for sponsoring our men and women's team and providing them financial help. It helped Indian hockey and now finally the results are apparent."
The political fraternity also congratulated the Indian Hockey team on their historic win.
"A BILLION CHEERS for India! Boys, you've done it! We can't keep calm! #TeamIndia! Our Men's Hockey Team dominated and defined their destiny in the Olympics history books today, yet again! We are extremely proud of you!." wrote Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in his tweet.
Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju also tweeted: "After 41 years wait...! A golden moment for Indian Hockey and Indian Sports! Finally, long wait is over as India defeated Germany to win Hockey Men's Olympic Bronze medal at #Tokyo2020! India in complete celebration mood! Congratulations to our Hockey players! #Cheer4India."
Reactions poured in from the sports fraternity too.
"Congratulations to each and every member of the Hockey contingent for 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 India is immensely proud! #Hockey #Tokyo2020 #Olympics," tweeted the legendary Indian Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
"An emotional moment for the entire nation, a moment of pride. The long wait has ended! Congratulations to the Indian Men's Hockey team for their splendid achievement @TheHockeyIndia," tweeted 2008 Olympic Gold-medalist Abhinav Bindra.
Indian hockey team defeated Germany to win the Bronze medal by a margin of 5-4 on Thursday, ending a 41 years-long wait for a medal in the sport.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Indian team had lost to Belgium by a margin of 2-5 in the semi-finals which put them into a battle for the Bronze medal with Germany.
( With inputs from ANI )
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