At Last An Olympic Hockey Medal After 41 Years As India Beat Germany To Win Bronze In Tokyo

New Delhi: August 5, will be remembered forever as a day of the rebirth of  Indian hockey in Olympic history. India beat Germany 5-4 to win the Bronze medal in Men’s hockey competition of the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020. This is India’s first medal in Olympics hockey in 41 years. So far, India has confirmed a total of five medals in the Tokyo Olympics. Captain Manpreet Singh’s men played with all their heart to bring the entire nation joy on a memorable Victory. In India, the game of hockey has always been  ‘DIL KA MAMLA HAI’.

At last, Incredible India has etched its name again in the hockey medal winners list. So what, if that has happened after 41 years. India last won an Olympic medal in 1980, when they won their eighth Gold. There was a time Indians were World beaters in hockey and when the India team got the first Bronze medal in the 1968 Olympics, an inquiry was initiated to know the reasons for our downfall, and today all the Indians are celebrating the Bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics. India had won two Bronze medals in Olympics way back in 1968 and 1972. India extended their record of most medals by a Nation in men’s Olympic hockey to 12, with 8 Golds, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze medals.

On Tuesday morning Dreams of playing the Final were shattered as World Champion Belgium beat India 5-2 in the first Semi Final. But today, India and Germany, both played at a very high speed and nine goals were scored in the match. Germany played out the first quarter with incredible pace in their attack and displayed their intent to put India on the back foot right from the start. India conceded the early goal, equalized and again conceded the goals but again equalized and in the 3rd quarter, the first time took the lead and maintained it till the end and won the match.

 Simranjeet Singh (17', 34'), Hardik Singh (27'), Harmanpreet Singh (29') and Rupinder Pal Singh (31') scored in India's historic win and not to forget, goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who came up with some outstanding saves in the dying seconds.

In the first quarter, Germany took an early lead. First goal of this Bronze medal play-off match was scored by German forward Timur Oruz within two minutes of the match. Germany went for an all-out attack on the Indian goal but goalkeeper Sreejesh saved brilliantly and the quarter ended with Germany leading 1-0.

The second quarter saw a flurry of goals being scored between the two teams. Both teams played fast and attacking hockey and five goals were scored.  In the second minute, Simranjeet scored the stunning equalizer on a brilliant counterattack from India led by Nilakanta Sharma. He made a delightful pass to Simranjeet who put it past German goalie Alexander Stadler. It was an important equalizer that put India back in the hunt. But Germany earned back the lead very soon with two quick field goals in two minutes from Christopher Ruhr and Benedikt Furk. Germany lead 3-1. Three minutes before the end of the quarter India also managed two goals in quick succession and sent the message that we can and we will fight. India bounced back soon enough with Simranjeet earning a PC in the 27th minute. It was experienced Rupinder Pal Singh taking the flick, and though keeper Stadler made a brilliant save, India's Hardik Singh was quick to take a rebound to successfully put it past the keeper. 

Narrowing the German lead to 3-2, India played to their potential by winning another crucial PC in the 29th minute. This time, Harmanpreet Singh does exceedingly well to score his 6th goal of the tournament and fetching a very important 3-3 equalizer for India. 

At halftime, both teams locked at 3-3. The 10-minute Half-time break was followed by a superb goal for India in the 31st minute through a PC. Germans lost the referral in the process and Rupinder Pal Singh converted a splendid penalty stroke putting India ahead with 4-3 scoreline. 

India scored again in the 34th minute when Harmanpreet Singh was at the heart of a counterattack with his long scoop pass, Gurjant Singh showcased his brilliant stick work making a quick run into the right flank. He entered the circle to set up Simranjeet Singh who completed the attack with a fine deflection. This attack brought back memories from India's Junior World Cup campaign in 2016 that brought the talent of this trio - Gurjant Singh, Simranjeet and Harmanpreet Singh to the fore. The third quarter continued to be action packed with both teams trading PCs. But India did well to hold on to the 5-3 lead. 

The final quarter remained tense with Germany scoring a goal off a PC in the 48th minute. This time it was Windfeder who scored for Germany. India gave away another opportunity for Germany to score when an early tackle by Sreejesh when Ruhr was going for a shot resulted in India conceding a PC. But Sreejesh made amends for the mistake with an excellent save to keep India in the driver's seat. The final few minutes were absolutely thrilling with Germany pushing for an equalizer. Germany won their 13th PC with less than 10 secs on the timer but India's defence held on, PR Sreejesh on target to bring home the Bronze Medal.