Indian hockey team comes back from deficit to clinch bronze in Paris Olympics

It was a captain’s showdown in the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium on Thursday evening as the two skippers battled to and fro to eventually decide the fate of the bronze medal in men’s hockey. As India and Spain vied for the third-place glory, Spain’s skipper, Marc Miralles drew first blood, propelling his team to a slender lead.

However, when it mattered the most, Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh, who had already fired eight goals by then, came ablaze, blasting two crucial goals in the third-place play-off as India put themselves in the driver’s seat.

The Men in Blue started the game on a fiery note, pressing high across the halfway mark. Despite being at the receiving end of some serious storm from the Indians, Spain maintained their composure and didn’t crack.

With their defence in place, an infringement from Gerard Clapes met with a foul from the returning Amit Rohidas, saw Spain being awarded a penalty. Their skipper stepped up and hammered home to the top-left corner.

It was in the last minutes of the second quarter that Team India would fight back strongly after sustaining a boatload of pressure from the Spaniards. With 14.6 seconds to go in the second quarter, Harmanpreet Kaur would finally make hay from all the pressure that India piled up on their counterparts, sneaking in the equalizer.

Moments later, India started dishing out a confident display and eventually it was the captain again, who latched onto a penalty corner, drag-flicking his way through glory as he pummelled home India’s second strike of the night which would eventually prove to be the match-winner. Harmanpreet Singh finished as India’s top-scorer in the latest edition of the Summer Games, scoring 10 goals to help India grab their second bronze medal on the trot.