Thursday proved to be one of the most memorable days in the history of Indian hockey. The men's team, led by Manpreet Singh, defeated Germany 5-4 to win bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.
This is India's first-ever medal at the Olympics since 1980 Moscow and 12th overall in the showpiece event.
Simranjeet Singh (17th, 34th) scored a brace of goals while Hardik Singh (27th min), Harmanpreet Singh (29th min) and Rupinderpal Singh (31st min) scored a goal apiece for India while for Germany Timur Cruz (2nd min), Niklas Wellen (24th min), Benedict Furk (25th min) and Lukas Windfeder (48th min) were on target.
India unleashed a four-goal blitz in four minutes as they came roaring back after being pinned down 1-3 by the Germans who started aggressively and created good pressure by going full press from the start itself.
The team had to wait till the evening for their medal ceremony as Australia were playing Belgium in the final which was won by Belgium following a penalty shoot-out.
The Indian team were the first to get on the podium for their medals and there were smiles all around to celebrate their historic achievement.
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