Picture Credit: Twitter
Within a span of a few hours, the Indian men's and women's hockey teams have overcome decades of despair and disappointment. While they had very little to show to their credit at the world stage in the last few decades, suddenly India has now two semifinal spots. While the men's team win over Great Britain came on a historic night, ending their 49 years wait for a semifinal place at the Olympics, for the women's side, their achievement on Monday might hold even the greatest significance. This is the first time the Indian women's team have reached so far and while a medal is still at least a win away, the nation is overwhelmed.
The win would have tasted even sweeter as it came against three-time champions Australia and that means the opposition now can't afford to take this team lightly. Moreover, India had a rather disappointing start to their Tokyo 2020 campaign but have now completed a hat-trick of wins. Gurjit Kaur was the hero of the nation as she scored her maiden Olympic goal in the 22nd minute to put India in the final four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where they could face either Argentina, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain or Great Britain.
Goes without saying, it would have an emotional moment for the players on the pitch and the same was evident after the match came to an end and India had clinched the match.
Check out the video of India's winning moment right here:
Gurjit's goal on Monday was the first for the women's team through a penalty corner at the Olympics. Moreover, it was also the first Australia conceded through a penalty corner at the Games which suggests how crucial that is for India who seems to be peaking at the right stage. After taking the lead in the 22nd minute, India were spot on with their defence work, denying the opponents even a single goal. Meanwhile, Argentina had beaten Germany 3-0 in the first quarterfinal on Monday.
In a match that is now part of folklore, India saved eight penalty corners while scoring in the one and only opportunity that they got. The match will easily go down as one of the country's most famous wins in Olympic history.