Hockey bronze medal match: Indian Women’s Hockey Team came back from two goals down in the second quarter, but ultimately lost the bronze medal playoff against Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics on August 6. With Savita Punia's brilliant save, Gurjit Kaur's two penalty corners and one goal by Vandana Katariya made it three for India to take the lead early in the game. But the women's team had to face defeat at hands of Great Britain 4-3 to finish 4th. This, however, remains so far the best performance of Indian women's hockey team in Olympics.
With nothing to lose from here on, world no.7 India fancied their chances against world no.4 Great Britain. The player of the match for us is Salima Tete today, who was rolling the ball so well. She is just 19.
A valiant effort from India. Three successive Olympic medals for Great Britain - 2012 (Bronze), 2016 (Gold), 2020 (Bronze).
Hockey player Neha Goyal's mother got emotional as the team lost in the bronze medal match. "Winning and losing is a part of the game. I am sure the team will win again," she said.
"No electricity since last night, we're using generator to watch the match. It doesn't matter. We just want Team India and our daughter to bring the Bronze medal home today," hockey player Gurjit Kaur's father Satnam Singh told ANI during the game. She scored two goals for India today.
"It's a proud moment for us to see our daughter scoring the crucial goals in the match. We will only pray for team to bring the medal home..."Jo Bole So Nihaal Sat Sri Akal", said Gurcharan Singh, brother of Kaur.
"We are praying for the team to win today's match. We are proud of our daughter. It's all due to the hard work that she has reached so far," said captain Rani Rampal's elated father who was expecting the Indian team to bring home the bronze medal.
Punia's family was too seen cheering for the goalkeeper at her house in Sirsa, Haryana. "It feels good...The team is playing well. It's a matter of half-an-hour, Bronze medal will be ours then," said her hopeful brother Ashok Kumar.
Meanwhile, in Haridwar, Lakhan Katariya, brother of Vandana Katariya, broke down saying, "She had promised to our father to bring Gold medal but it didn't happen. He is not among us today."
"I hope Salima plays better today to help the team bag the third prize. Game is all about win and loss. There will be many opportunities to bring Gold medal in the future," Subhani Tete, mother of hockey player Salima Tete, said prior to the match.
Sushila Chanu's family in Imphal also watched the match as their daughter fought for the bronze medal.
Having already recorded their best-ever Olympic performance, the Indian women were looking to double the nation’s joy on Friday. Indians were thrashed 1-4 by Great Britain, who were the defending champions, in the pool stages. Having failed to emulate their gold-winning performance in Rio five years back, Great Britain was desperate to at least sign off their campaign with a podium finish.
The Indian side had beaten three-time champions Australia 1-0 to book a semi-final berth for the first time. India had made their first Olympic appearance at the 1980 Games in Moscow. The second was at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. In 2021, the Indian women’s hockey team scripted history by competing in their second consecutive Olympics for the first time. Meet the Women’s Hockey Team here.
Feature Image Credit: Associated Press
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