August 8: India ended their week-long medal drought at the Paris Olympics on Thursday by winning bronze in men’s hockey with a 2-1 victory over Spain. Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored twice in quick succession (at the 30th and 33rd minutes) to secure the win, after Spain had taken the lead through Marc Miralles’ penalty stroke early in the second quarter. Harmanpreet, known for his drag-flicks, finished as the top scorer in the men’s hockey event with 10 goals, seven from penalty corners and three from penalty strokes.
This bronze marked India’s fourth medal at the Paris Olympics and was the first medal not won by the shooting team. The match also served as a fitting farewell for veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who had announced that Paris would be his last Olympic appearance.
For the first time since 1968 and 1972, the Indian men’s hockey team has won medals in consecutive Olympics. They had previously secured bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, their first Olympic medal in hockey since winning gold in Moscow 1980.
While India celebrated their victory, Germany, who India had defeated to win bronze in Tokyo, got their revenge by beating India 3-2 to advance to the gold medal match against the Netherlands.
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