Indian hockey team defeated Spain 2-1 to clinch its second consecutive Olympic bronze on 8 July 2024. It was a thrilling match with both sides attacking and counterattacking and it was left to the brilliance of Indian goal-keeper P.R. Sreejesh, who was playing his last match, to thwart the Spanish forwards.
Spain opened the scoring in the 18th minute when Marc Miralles scored via a penalty stroke. However, the goal was equalised by Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh, who scored twice via two penalty corners in the 28th & 33rd minute.
This was Harmanpreet’s best performance in any Olympics and he became the highest scorer with 10 goals in this competition. Harmanpreet joined legends like Dhyan Chand, Roop Singh, Balbir Singh Senior, Udham Singh, and Prithipal Singh, who were the highest scorers for India at the hockey competition in the Olympics. With this win India, has now won 13 Olympic medals in hockey; 8 gold (6 consecutive), 1 silver and 4 bronze.
India has the best winning streak at the Olympics, with a record of winning 30 consecutive matches from 1928-1960, it also holds the record of scoring a maximum number of goals and is the only team to date to have won Olympic gold without conceding a single goal (1928 & 1956). This victory will surely popularise the National Sport of India, with many young people picking up the hockey stick and bringing more laurels to the country.
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