 "‘Very emotional moment for our team’: Harmanpreet leads glowing tributes for Sreejesh after India win men’s hockey bronze")
Paris: The dream was to win a gold but even the bronze means “everything” to India hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, who asserted that back-to-back Olympic medals have proved that his team can beat any fancied opponent in the world.
India clinched a second successive bronze medal at the Olympic Games for the first time in 52 years, beating Spain 2-1 in Paris on Thursday.
**Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and more**“The biggest thing is that we have won back-to-back (medals) and (Indian) hockey is on the rise. We are showing that we can beat any team. I think this is a big thing for the whole country and a big thing for us too,” said Harmanpreet, who scored 10 goals during the course of the mega-event, including the two winning strikes on Thursday.
“This is a stage where you have to wait a lot. And you have to face a lot of phases. As a hockey player, this is not easy. We are so proud that we played as a team. We trusted each other and a big thanks to our coaches too,” the 28-year-old told host broadcaster JioCinema after the match.
Read | India’s Olympic bronze medal win in hockey leads to outpouring of emotions
The captain, who was also a part of the team that won bronze in Tokyo, apologised to the fans for not reaching the final (after losing to Germany in the semi-finals) but said the team will try to better the colour of the medal in the next edition.
“Our dream was to win a gold medal here, and everyone was trusting us. I would like to say sorry because we could have done it (win gold medal), we have missed out on it very closely but this medal is everything for us.
“Our mindset, our mentality is that whenever we come on the ground, we always come to win. Sometimes, results are not in our favour. But I think this is our destiny.
“The history of hockey (in India) has been massive and we are trying to take it forward, win more medals for the country. I would request you to give love to hockey, support us and we hope that next time, we will do better than this and win (more) medals for the country.”
Sreejesh will be missed
He paid glowing tributes to iconic custodian PR Sreejesh who played his last match on Thursday after an 18-year-long illustrious career.
“Some of the boys in our team are of the age equal to (number of years) Sreejesh has spent in hockey, or probably more. He has been with us for a long time and has brought many proud moments for India.
“This was his last match and it was also a very emotional moment for our team. When we came here, we were talking about dedicating this tournament to Sreejesh,” he said.
“The journey that he has had, it is a big thing. We are so happy that we won the bronze medal for the country and him.”
Talking about the bronze medal match against Spain, he said, “The last 8-10 minutes were very difficult. Their goalkeeper was off and an attacker came in. Our mentality was that we would defend strongly.
“Unfortunately, we gave them chances. But we believe that we have one of the best PC defences. Our goalkeeper and everyone who is included in the PC defence did a very good job. We are so proud that we won this medal.”
Analysis | Cautious approach doesn’t stop India from giving Sreejesh perfect farewell gift with bronze
Key mid-fielder Manpreet Singh, who led the team in Tokyo, said it was big achievement for the side, especially for Sreejesh.
“We would like to dedicate this medal to PR Sreejesh because it was his last match. He has spent 13 years with me and we have seen a lot together.
“We are very happy to win the bronze medal for the second time. We wanted to play and win the final but unfortunately, we lost the semi-final. But it was a good performance throughout the Olympics.
“We are not leaving empty-handed. We are taking the bronze medal with us.”
Asked how the team kept itself motivated after the semifinal loss to Germany, he said, “We were a little down when we lost the semi-final. But, after that, everyone knew that we would definitely take the bronze medal with us.
“Everyone knew that this last match was very crucial for us because we have sacrificed so much to reach here.”
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