HIGHLIGHTS

• The hockey teams arrived with the rest of the Indian contingent in New Delhi on Monday
• The men’s team won India’s first Olympic medal in hockey in 41 years
• The women’s team reached the knockouts for the first time, where they stunned Australia to reach the semis

The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams arrived in New Delhi on Monday after their historic campaign at the Tokyo Olympics. While the men’s team won India’s first Olympic medal in hockey in 41 years, the women’s team progressed to the bronze medal match.

India’s Olympic medalists will be felicitated by the Sports Ministry in New Delhi on Monday.

Both teams recovered from shaky starts in the tournament to progress to the knockouts. It was the first time that the women’s team had reached the stage and they ended up stunning gold medal favourites Australia to reach the semi-finals.

The men also reached the semis, where they lost to eventual gold medallists Belgium. They then played a thrilling bronze medal match against Germany and won 5-4, securing a first Olympic medal for Indian hockey in 41 years. The women also played a thriller of a bronze medal match and while they ended up on the losing side, they earned plaudits for the fight that they showed throughout the tournament.

The men’s team scripted history in the bronze medal match with Simranjeet Singh, Hardik Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh scoring for India.

The women’s team, meanwhile, edged into the knockouts despite starting the group stage with four consecutive losses. After a defeat to Argentina in the semi-finals, they faced Great Britain in the bronze medal match. It was yet another thrilling encounter but this time, India lost 4-3. Their fourth-place finish equals the best-ever finish that the Indian women’s hockey team previously managed at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

The men’s team were thrashed 1-7 by Australia in their second match of the Olympics. However, they staged a clinical comeback after that, even equalling Australia on points to finish second in the group. They then beat Great Britain 3-1 in the quarter-finals before losing 2-5 to eventual gold medallists Belgium in the semis. In what turned out to be a see-saw bronze medal match against Germany, India came from 3-1 down in the second quarter to beat the four-time champions.