Indian Men’s Hockey Team Aims for Bronze Against Spain After Close Loss to Germany
Paris [France], August 7: After a heart-breaking 2-3 loss against reigning World Champions Germany in a thrilling semi-final, the Indian Men’s Hockey Team will now focus on Spain for the Bronze medal at the ongoing Paris Olympics. Spain had lost to the Netherlands 0-4 in the Semi-Final after a surprising win against Belgium in the Quarter-Final.
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh said, “We are extremely disappointed that our dream of playing in the Olympic Games Final has not been realized. The team gave their absolute best, and I am proud of how we played. At no point did we give up; we fought valiantly until the last second.”
In the match against Germany, Harmanpreet earned India the lead with his 7th-minute goal, but Germany equalized in the 18th minute through Gonzalo Peillat. Germany took the lead in the 27th minute through Christopher Ruehr. India equalized in the 36th minute with a brilliant PC variation, with Sukhjeet Singh getting the perfect deflection. Unfortunately for India, Marco Miltkau scored in the 54th minute to secure Germany’s win.
The disappointment of not being able to ‘change the colour of the medal’ was evident. Harmanpreet added, “It won’t be easy to forget this loss. We came really close and it was everyone’s dream to change the colour of the medal this time. But now, we shift our focus to the Bronze medal game. We have another chance at creating history by winning back-to-back medals.”
Vice Captain Hardik Singh said, “They are a very good opponent and surely riding on good confidence from their victory against Belgium in the quarterfinal. They are familiar opponents for us and we look forward to returning home with a medal on our neck.”
Doubts Revealed
Hockey -: Hockey is a sport where two teams try to hit a small ball into the other team’s goal using a curved stick.
Bronze medal -: A bronze medal is a prize given to the team or person who finishes third in a competition.
Germany -: Germany is a country in Europe. In this context, it is the team that the Indian Men’s Hockey Team played against in the semi-finals.
Spain -: Spain is a country in Europe. Here, it is the team that the Indian Men’s Hockey Team will play against for the bronze medal.
Paris Olympics -: The Paris Olympics is a big sports event happening in Paris, France, where athletes from all over the world compete in various sports.
Skipper -: Skipper is another word for the captain of a team, who leads and makes important decisions.
Harmanpreet Singh -: Harmanpreet Singh is the captain of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team.
Vice Captain -: The vice captain is the second-in-command in a team, helping the captain and taking over if the captain can’t play.
Hardik Singh -: Hardik Singh is the vice captain of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team.
Netherlands -: The Netherlands is a country in Europe. In this context, it is the team that Spain played against in their semi-final match.
