In a thrilling affair, India men’s hockey team defeated Germany to win the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday. This is India’s first Olympic medal in hockey since they won the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
India saw Germany take an early lead with Timur Oruz scoring within two minutes of the match. Germany troubled Indian defense in the first quarter, but could not find a way to extend their lead.
In the second quarter, Simranjeet Singh scored two goals for India at the Oi Hockey Stadium, along with Hardik Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh also adding their names on the scoresheet. Coach Graham Reid’s side showed great temperament in the dying minutes of the match to script history.
This is India’s fourth-medal (and fifth confirmed) in Tokyo so far. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won silver in the 48kg category, boxer Lovlina Borgohain won the bronze medal in the women’s welterweight category and shuttler PV Sindhu won a bronze medal in women’s singles competition. Meanwhile, wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya has also confirmed a medal and will compete in the gold medal bout on Thursday afternoon.
It was a good journey for India men’s hockey team in Tokyo Olympics, defeating New Zealand 3-2 in their opening group game, and then picking up wins over Germany (2-0), Spain (3-1), Argentina (3-1), and Japan (5-3) in the group matches. Barring the 7-1 defeat against Australia, and the 5-2 loss in the semifinal to the World Champions Belgium, India won all their games in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, Gujarat’s billionaire diamond merchant Savji Dholakia, who is known for handing out lavish gifts to his employees, has now promised that his company will provide assistance of ₹ 11 lakh to members of the Indian women’s Hockey team who want to build a house.
He also promised that if the team brings home a medal, the group will award other members, who already have a house, with a “brand-new car” worth ₹ 5 lakh.
