2024-08-24 00:48:14
New Delhi: Olympic bronze medalist Indian men’s hockey team members were warmly welcomed by hundreds of sports lovers present at the airport on their arrival from Paris on Saturday morning. The Indian team returned after winning its 13th Olympic medal in hockey by defeating Spain 2-1 in the bronze medal match on Thursday. Indian hockey’s wall goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will be India’s flag bearer along with two medalist shooter Manu Bhaker in the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Sreejesh, Amit Rohidas, Rajkumar Pal, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh and Sanjay will return after the closing ceremony.Big statement of captain Harmanpreet Singh
Captain Harmanpreet Singh and the team were welcomed at the Indira Gandhi Airport with garlands of flowers and drums. Harmanpreet, who scored both the goals in the bronze medal match, told the media, “We got full support and all our needs were fulfilled. We want to thank them.”
He said, ‘This is a big achievement for hockey. Our responsibility has increased with this love. We will try to return with a medal every time.’ Harmanpreet scored the highest number of 10 goals in the Paris Olympics. He said that the team is overwhelmed by this welcome. He said, ‘It was great to see that Indian fans came here to welcome us. The team had left no stone unturned in preparing for the Olympics and it was a pleasure to see that our hard work paid off and the whole country is celebrating our victory.’
India defeated Australia 3-2 in the group stage of Paris Olympics and this was the first victory over Australia in Olympics after Munich Olympics 1972. Apart from this, in the quarter-finals, due to the brilliant performance of Sreejesh, India defeated Britain 4-2 in penalty shootout.
What did vice-captain Hardik Singh say?
Indian vice-captain Hardik Singh said, ‘The players had unshakable faith in each other that if one makes a mistake, the other will take care of it. This is why we were able to perform our best.’ He said, ‘We played very well in the match against Britain. There was amazing coordination in midfield, defense, forward and if anyone failed, we had Sreejesh who has pulled us out of trouble many times.’
Harmanpreet said, ‘These memories will remain with us. The bronze medal proved that Indian hockey is on the right track. We can beat anyone when it is our day. We needed confidence in ourselves and the support of Indian hockey lovers. I would request you to keep loving hockey and keep supporting us.’