Paris Olympics 2024 has been bittersweet for India. While first-timers like Manu Bhaker scored big and won everybody’s hearts, an expected win like Vinesh Phogat's sour disqualification was gut-wrenching, to say the least. In the midst of this, however, hockey India has been persevering and making big gains, both in terms of medals, as well as the fan following. India vs Great Britain Hockey match was in fact one of the most thrilling, neck-to-neck ones, and we couldn’t help but not blink till the last second. While they did lose to the reigning world champions Germany in the semifinals, the Indian hockey team will be fighting it out against Spain to make sure they secure the bronze on the 8th of August.
As far as the Olympics hockey is concerned, the Indian hockey team won the bronze in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, while the Spanish team ranks world no. 8, making it an interesting game to watch. What adds to the fun is that while India hockey highlights have been steady performances, and well a really good last-minute score in the India vs Great Britain hockey match, nobody knows what to expect from Spain. The Spanish hockey team in the previous matches, defeated the mighty German and Belgian teams and then lost to Great Britain 4-0, who India beat to get into the semis. A fun situation indeed!
One of the biggest hockey India highlights is that the Indian hockey team is the most successful team in the history of the Olympics, having won the gold 8 times, from 1928 to 1980, post which it went into a slump. 20 odd years later, hockey India made a comeback, and the sport, as well as the team, started recovering. Post-2013, it has been making steady gains, and will hopefully be on its way to cinching the gold next time around. For this time, we think the bronze will do!