Tokyo Olympics: India win their first hockey medal in over 40 YEARS as the men’s side claim bronze

India win their first Olympic hockey medal in over 40 YEARS as the men’s side claim bronze via thrilling 5-4 victory over Germany in Tokyo… with forward Simranjeet Singh the standout player and match-winner

India won the bronze medal in hockey after a thrilling 5-4 victory over Germany on Thursday, giving the country its first Olympic medal in the sport in more than forty years.

India forward Simranjeet Singh stood out from the other players by scoring two goals for India, including the winning goal of the match.

‘It’s a dream come true,’ Simranjeet said. ‘We’ve made 1.3 billion Indians proud by finishing on the podium.’

India won the bronze medal in hockey after a thrilling 5-4 victory over Germany in Tokyo 

India forward Simranjeet Singh stood out from the other players by scoring two goals

India forward Simranjeet Singh stood out from the other players by scoring two goals

The goal-rich match was not an easy one for the eight-time Olympic champions. Germany took an early lead through a second-minute goal by Timur Oruz, and posed a threat to India in the first quarter.

After Simranjeet equalised with a backhand shot for India, Germany kept their cool, scoring two goals to take a 3-1 lead in the second quarter.

But India pulled level late in that quarter thanks to goals by Hardik Singh and Harmanpreet Singh, making it 3-3 at the halftime break.

‘We’re very angry at ourselves that we got India back into the game,’ Germany’s head coach Kais al Saadi said. ‘They’re a great team. You can’t give away opportunities like that to a fantastic team like that.’

India then took a 5-3 lead after Rupinder Pal Singh notched in a penalty stroke and Simranjeet scored the winning goal of the match not long into the second half.

India fought back from a 3-1 deficit to claim the bronze while Germany finish in fourth place

India fought back from a 3-1 deficit to claim the bronze while Germany finish in fourth place

Germany came back a goal and tried to force the equaliser, even taking out its goalkeeper to bring in an extra field player late in the game.

But the Germans could not get another ball past India goalie Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, who was a star of the match with nine saves.

The bronze marked India’s first Olympic hockey medal since they last claimed the top prize at the 1980 Moscow Games, when none of the players on the current squad were born yet.

India will battle Great Britain for bronze in the women’s hockey tournament on Friday.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk