‘Great Wall’ signs off Hockey with Olympic Bronze Medal
Image credit X.com @16Sreejesh
India win bronze in hockey at Paris Olympics
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, August 8: India won bronze in the hockey in Paris Olympics on Thursday. Indian men’s team defeated Spain 2:1 in the match for the bronze medal.
India won back-to-back bronze medal in the men’s hockey in the Olympics. India had won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Indian men’s hocket team had ended the medal drought after a gap of 41 years in the Tokyo Olympics.
The Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has been instrumental in the fortunes of the hockey team in the recent years. He has been widely hailed as the ‘Great Wall’ of the Indian hockey team.
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“As I stand between the posts for the final time, my heart swells with gratitude and pride. This journey, from a young boy with a dream to the man defending India’s honour, has been nothing short of extraordinary,” the legendary goalkeeper posted on X, formerly Twitter, ahead of his final match on Thursday.
He said that “today, I play my last match for India”. “Every save, every dive, every roar of the crowd will forever echo in my soul. Thank you, India, for believing in me, for standing by me. This is not the end, but the beginning of cherished memories. Forever a custodian of dreams,” noted Sreejesh in his post.
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Hailing from Kerala, Sreejesh has been at the centre stage of the turnaround story of the Indian hockey team. The turn for good in the fortunes had begun with former Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik deciding to sponsor the Indian men’s hockey team.
The Odisha government consistently invested in the hockey team with facilities, as well hosting international tournaments.
“A fitting farewell to PR Sreejesh — one of hockey’s all-time greats! Paris had its share of heartbreaks, and I was truly scared today. I’m so glad he’s saying goodbye with a medal around his neck! Adios, champion,” stated Diwakar KS of SportsWalkMedia in a post on X.
The feat of the Indian hockey team gave India the fourth medal at the Paris Olympics. This is the first medal in the team effort in the Paris Olympics.
The success of the Indian hockey team has come after the heart-break of the wrestler Vinesh Phogat missing out from the final bout after her disqualification. Phogat was found overweight by 100 gram.
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