India won a medal in hockey for the first time in 41 years
Relive how the tournament has panned out for the Indian team by watching the highlights
PR Sreejesh saved a penalty corner in the final few seconds of the match as India edged past Germany 5-4 and won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The last medal of Indian men's hockey team at the Olympic Games came way back at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The Manpreet Singh-led side were competitive in all matches, barring the one against Australia. The men in blue were handed a humiliating 7-1 defeat in the second game by the Aussies, but they have made a strong comeback in the tournament.
Here is a glance through how thrilling the journey of winning the bronze medal has been.
India vs New Zealand
India began their campaign on a positive note against the Kiwis with a 3-2 victory. The team was clinical throughout the opening match in the attack as well as the defence. Harmanpreet and Rupinder were lethal as India were in the lead for the majority part of the contest. They did well to defend a slender one goal in the final quarter and bag the three points.
India vs Australia
The match against Australia was the biggest test of the group stage for the team. Australia was the superior side on paper and it reflected through the performance on the field as they won the match by a score of 7-1.
India vs Spain
After the loss against Australia, a comeback was always going to be a difficult task. The team took the loss in stride and were strong in the match against Spain and bagged a comfortable victory in their third match of the tournament.
India vs Argentina
The clash against defending champions Argentina was going to be a tough task for India but they clinched a 3-1 victory. India wasted goal-scoring chances in the match but looked solid defensively. Vivek Prasad, Varun Kumar and Harmanpreet Singh found the back of the net as the quarter-finals were now within touching distance.
India vs Japan
India won the final group game by 5-3 against Japan. The defence of the Indian team had its weaknesses as a few key players had been rested. Gurjant Singh scored a brace and was the star of the match. Japan fought hard but India was too good for the hosts.
India vs Great Britain
India had a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals coming from Dilpreet Singh and Gurjant Singh. Britain gave India a tough fight as they scored in the final seconds of the third quarter to keep themselves in the game. However, the men in blue countered the threat in the final quarter and qualified for their first semi-final in 49 years.
India vs Belgium
India conceded a goal in the second minute of the match but scored a couple of goals and led 2-1 at the start of the first quarter. Belgium equalised in the third quarter and was dominating the play. In the final quarter, Alexander Hendrickx completed his hat-trick and put Belgium in the lead. The European side progressed to the final as they handed a 5-2 defeat.
India vs Germany
Germany began the match with a goal in the second minute of the match. India scored in the second quarter to level the match. The European side was dominating as they scored a couple of goals in the second quarter. However, India equalised in the same quarter as the match was 3-3 at half-time. Rupinder Pal Singh converted the penalty stroke in the opening minute of the 3rd quarter and three minutes later, Simranjeet scored his second goal of the match. Germany was resilient as they pulled a goal back but couldn't equalise as India won the bronze medal.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)