Tokyo 2020:India defeat Germany 5-4 to ends medal drought at Olympics after 41 years,Clinches Bronze
India ended a long, excruciating wait of 41 years as they bagged the bronze medal in men's hockey after defeating Germany 5-4 in the play-off at the Tokyo Olympics. Goals from Simranjeeet Singh, Hardik Singh, Rupinderpal Singh, and skipper Harmanpreet Singh were enough for Team India to secure the Bronze medal.
After going down 1-3 down early in the second quarter, India bounced back in style with the help of Hardik Singh and Harmanpreet Singh to make it 3-3 just before the half-time break. The eight-time Olympic gold medallists turned up the heat at the start of the third quarter as they raced to a 5-3 lead owing to two quick goals by Rupinder Pal Singh and Simranjeet Singh. Despite pulling one back in the final quarter of the contest, Germany failed to turn things around to the delight of the Manpreet Singh-led side.
The first quarter was dominated by Germany where they scored in the second minute of the match. At the end of the first quarter, Germany was given four back-to-back penalty corners but Indian defenders did well not allowing them to score their second goal of the match. India started the second quarter on a positive note as Simranjit Singh scored for India but the Germans made a strong comeback by scoring two more goals in a matter of few minutes. Under tremendous pressure trailing 3-1, Hardik Singh and Harmanpreet Singh also scored two goals to bring India back in the match.
Germany got a penalty corner at the beginning of the fourth quarter and scored a goal to reduce the deficit to 5-4. Lukas Windfeder scored the goal for Germany who got their 10th penalty corner with 2:45 minutes left in the match. But Indian defenders brought their A-game to the table in the final quarter and scripted history in Tokyo. With just six seconds left in the match, Germany got another penalty corner but failed to breach the Indian defense and there were celebrations all around in the camp as Manpreet Singh and his team won a memorable match to win a bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics 2020.
India scored two back-to-back goals in the second quarter to make it 3-3 vs Germany and then broke through in the third quarter to turn the match in their favor. It is India's third hockey bronze medal in the history of the Olympics, the other two coming in 1968 Mexico City and the 1972 Munich Games. India has a rich history at the Olympics where they have eight gold medals to their name.
