Each player of the bronze medal-winning Indian men's hockey team at the Paris Olympics 2024 will receive a cash reward of ₹ 15 lakh while the support staff members will get ₹ 7.7 lakh each, announced Hockey India. The Harmpanpreet Singh-led Indian side secured a historic bronze medal , defeating Spain 2-1.
This marked India men's hockey team's second consecutive Olympic medal, an achievement last accomplished 52 years ago. "Hockey India is proud to announce a cash prize of INR 15 lakhs for each player of the Indian Men's Hockey Team and INR 7.5 lakhs for each member of the support staff in recognition of their outstanding achievement at the 2024 Paris Olympics," HI said in a statement.
The match, held at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in Paris on Thursday, was especially significant as it also served as the farewell game for legendary Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who had earlier announced that this Games would be his last in the Indian jersey. India, who suffered a heartbreaking loss to Germany in the semi-final barely couple of days ago, delivered a stellar performance, with the skipper leading from the front. Harmanpreet scored two crucial goals in the 30th and 33rd minutes to end the tournament as the highest goal-scorer.
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey lauded the team's historic performance. "This victory is a testament to the hard work, determination, and resilience of our players and support staff. Winning back-to-back Olympic medals is an extraordinary achievemen.