India men's hockey team with bronze medal© AFP
Indian Men's Hockey player, Sanjay's mother Kaushalya heaped praise on her son as he brought back a bronze medal for the nation. "Congratulations to him, we are delighted. He brought laurels to the country. We are proud. We will celebrate and throw a party, we will invite all our relatives and the entire village..." Kaushalya said while speaking to ANI. Earlier today, the Indian Hockey Team received a warm welcome at the Delhi Airport after clinching the bronze medal at the marquee event.
People gathered in huge numbers at the Delhi Airport to get a glimpse of the bronze medalists in the Paris Olympics. Fans welcomed the Indian hockey players with the tunes of dhols.
PR Sreejesh, Abhishek Nain, Amit Rohidas, and Sanjay were among the players who touched down at the national capital today.
The closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics was held on Sunday night.
Earlier on Saturday, the first set of the Indian men's hockey team arrived at the New Delhi Airport. The rest of the players who stayed for the closing ceremony of the Summer Games 2024 arrived on Tuesday.
India finished in the 71st place on the Paris Olympics medals tally, while, the United States of America ended in top place with a total of 126 medals.
On Thursday, a brace from captain Harmanpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh's saves secured a bronze medal for India at the Paris Olympics with a 2-1 victory over Spain at the Yves du Manoir Stadium in France.
Under the guidance of coach Craig Fulton, India created history by securing back-to-back bronze medals at the Olympics. Goals from Harmanpreet Singh (30', 33') were enough to seal the victory. Marc Miralles (18') was the lone goal-scorer for Spain.
In an electrifying atmosphere, the Indian team triumphed despite being down 0-1 after the first quarter.
Sreejesh, playing his last game for India, was filled with emotions as the rest of the team joined him on the ground to celebrate this momentous occasion in India's hockey history.
India won consecutive bronze hockey medals for the first time in 52 years, since the 1972 Munich Games.
Singh emerged as the leading goal-scorer in the tournament, netting 10 goals in eight matches, surpassing Australia's Blake Govers, who scored seven goals, by three.
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