Indian men’s hockey team clinches bronze by beating Spain
The victory also served as a fitting farewell for PR Sreejesh, who had announced that the Paris Olympics would be his final appearance.
India ended their week-long medal drought at the Paris Olympics, clinching bronze in men’s hockey with a 2-1 victory over Spain.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh (30’, 33’) led the team to a podium finish with two goals in quick succession around the halfway mark. Spain’s Marc Miralles (18’) had earlier put his team in the lead with a penalty stroke three minutes into the second quarter. Harmanpreet, an ace drag-flicker, emerged as the leading goal-scorer in the men’s hockey event at Paris 2024, netting 10 goals throughout the competition — seven from penalty corners and three from penalty strokes.
This marked India’s fourth medal at the Paris Games and the first not won by the shooting team.
The victory also served as a fitting farewell for veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who had announced that the Paris Olympics would be his final appearance.
The Indian men’s hockey team achieved the rare feat of winning medals in consecutive Olympics for the first time since earning bronze in 1968 and 1972.
India had previously secured bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, their first Olympic medal in hockey since the gold in Moscow 1980, with a 5-4 win over Germany. However, the Germans avenged their Tokyo defeat with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Harmanpreet and his team, advancing to the gold medal match against two-time Olympic champions Netherlands later on Thursday.
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