Indian men's hockey players couldn't contain their joy after clinching the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Thursday, August 8. Harmanpreet Singh-led Men in Blue registered 2-1 win over Spain to clinch the second successive bronze medal at the Olympics.
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. The Men in Blue continued to maintain a lead in the fourth quarter and eventually won the match to secure a bronze medal.
Indian players finally felt relieved, especially PR Sreejesh who played the last match of his International career at the Paris Olympics. The Men in Blue celebrated joyously on the field and then, continued their celebration in the dressing room.
In a video shared by Hockey India on its Instagram handle, Indian men's hockey players can be dancing hearts out in the dressing room as they celebrate their hard-earned bronze medal win.
By clinching their second consecutive bronze medal, 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. T
India holds a record of winning eight Olympic gold medals in hockey , three of which were won before independence and the remaining five after independence.
'We are going up again': skipper Harmanpreet Singh
Captain Harmanpreet Singh believes that Indian hockey is rising again following two successive medals at the Olympics. He urged the fans to continue supporting Indian hockey with a promise that they will do better in the next Olympics.
"Medal is medal. Both medals are big, I think in terms of Indian hockey, we are going up again, showing that we can beat any team in the world," Harmanpreet said.
"India's history in hockey is huge. We are trying to get us back to the top again. It is my humble plea that please support us and we will definitely do better next time." he added.
With the two Olympic medals on the trot, India's men's hockey team won as many successive medals at the Summer Games for the first time since the 1972 Mexico Olympics. 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.
