Picture Credit: Twitter
What happened on Thursday will be remembered for a long time in the history of Indian hockey. The men's team led by Manpreet Singh clinched a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 by defeating Germany 5-4 in an absolute nail-biter. This is India's first Olympics medal in hockey in 41 years as it was in 1960 Games when the team had won a gold. Since then the side failed to make it to the semi-finals. However, the current crop of Indian players turned the tables in the ongoing edition of Olympics by putting a sensational effort to take a bronze medal home.
Minutes after India's comeback win over Germany in the fight for the third-place spot, wishes started pouring in for the players. From the likes of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar to football star Sunil Chhetri, the sports fraternity also expressed its emotions on social media along with the fans. To add cherry on the cake, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi too called captain Manpreet Singh and company to congratulate them for their historic feat. PM Modi also talked to team's head coach Graham Reid and assistant coach Piyush Dubey over a phone call.
"Many congratulations to you and your team, you guys have done a splendid job," said PM Modi to Manpreet Singh. While the Indian skipper credited PM Modi's motivation prior to the game for the result, the leader, in return, said that it was the effort of the players that helped them achieve the feat. PM Modi also asked Manpreet to congratulate all the teammates on his behalf, before the hockey player could pass the phone to assistant coach Piyush Dubey and head coach Graham Reid.
Here the video:
Notably, PM Modi also took to social media to share his excitement on the team clinching bronze at the Games. "Historic! A day that will be etched in the memory of every Indian. Congratulations to our Men’s Hockey Team for bringing home the Bronze. With this feat, they have captured the imagination of the entire nation, especially our youth. India is proud of our Hockey team," said the PM on Twitter.
Talking about the game, the Indians were trailing 1-3 at one stage, however, a superb attacking game helped them seal the match 5-4.