The Indian men’s hockey team clinched a second successive bronze medal at the Olympic Games for the first time in 52 years with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Spain, giving veteran goalkeeper a fitting farewell here on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT Tense last moments It was tense last few moments for the Indians as they faced two short corners in the final minute, but the defence stood tall. India, who claimed the bronze at the Tokyo Games after a hiatus of 41 years, lived up to expectations despite not having a perfect build-up to the Games.
The last time India won back-to-back Olympic medals was in 1968 (bronze) and 1972 editions (bronze). The bronze medal was also a desperate wait for the Indian contingent in Paris, which has endured six fourth-place finishes so far, apart from the heartbreaking disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat. Spain went ahead with skipper Marc Miralles (18th) converting a penalty stroke while India captain Harmanpreet Singh (30th, 33rd) netted a fine brace.
Shrugging off their heart-wrenching 2-3 defeat against Germany in the semi-final, India came out all guns blazing to dominate the possession in the first quarter but neither team scored. Spain came with more purpose in the second quarter and took the lead in the 18th minute through a penalty stroke conversion by Miralles after Manpreet Singh conceded a foul inside the D. Skipper scores brace India pressed hard and secured their first penalty corner in the 29th minute but could not convert.
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