India beat Germany in thriller for men’s hockey bronze

TIL Desk Sports/ Eight-time champions India staged a splendid recovery to defeat Germany 5-4 in a thrilling men’s hockey bronze medal play-off and win an Olympic medal after 41 years, at the Tokyo Games, on Thursday.

When goalkeeper P R Sreejesh saved Germany’s last penalty-corner with 6.8 seconds to go for the hooter, India’s players broke into celebration after a super effort. Simranjeet Singh (17th, 34th minute) scored a brace, while Hardik Singh (27th), Harmanpreet Singh (29th) and Rupinder Pal Singh (31st) were India’s other scorers.

Timur Oruz (2nd), Niklas Wellen (24th), Benedikt Furk (25th) and Lukas Windfeder (48th) scored for Germany. India’s last medal at the Olympics was a gold, at Moscow in 1980. Determined to clinch a medal, the Indians staged one of the most memorable comebacks in the history of the game, fighting back from a two-goal deficit (1-3) to turn the match around.

There were tears and hugs on the field as the Indian players savoured the historic moment. This is India’s third hockey bronze medal at the Olympics. The other two came in 1968 at Mexico City and 1972 at the Munich Games.