Hockey India has announced the cash prizes for their players and support staff following the Men in Blue's bronze medal win at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Thursday, August 8.
Harmanpreet Singh-led India men's hockey team clinched second successive Olympic bronze medal with a 2-1 over Spain. India missed out on the chance of reaching the final after losing to Germany in the semifinal. However, the Men in Blue managed to end their Olympic campaign with a bronze medal.
After Spain skipper Marc Miralles gave his team a lead in the first quarter, India bounced back into the game and scored a goal each in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, thanks to skipper Harmanpreet Singh, who helped the Men in Blue secure a bronze medal.
India men's hockey players and the Indian crowd erupted into joy as soon as the final whistle was blown, celebrating the hard-fought victory to win a bronze medal after missing out on the chance of a gold medal.
Following the bronze medal win against Spain, Hockey India announced cash rewards for their players and support staff who played a crucial role in helping the team making it to the podium finish with Bronze medal.
Taking to his X handle (formerly Twitter), Hockey India stated INR 15 lakhs to be awarded to each of 16 members in the squad while the support staff will receive INR 7.5 lakhs each.
"𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 : Hockey India announces cash prize of ₹15 Lakhs each for all the players & ₹ 7.5 Lakhs each for the support staff for their bronze medal winning performance at the Paris Olympics. " Hockey wrote on X.
The bronze medal win was special for India as the legendary goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has bid adieu to his international career on high. Sreejesh already announced that he would retire from international hockey after the conclusion of India's campaign at the Paris Olympics. The 36-year-old capped off his international career with two Olympic bronze medals.
Meanwhile, with second successive bronze medal at the Olympics, the Indian men's hockey team has increased their overall Olympic medal tally to 13, further solidifying their status as the most successful team in Olympic history. The team holds a record of eight Olympic gold medals, three of which were won before independence and the remaining five after independence.
Additionally, for the first time since the 1972 Munich Olympics, India won two medals on the trot at the Summer Games. The bronze medal win at the 2021 Tokyo Games was historic as India ended a 41-year Olympic medal drought in hockey, having last clinched the gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
