1.3 billion Indians woke up to a historic morning as the Indian men’s hockey claimed its first Olympic medal since 1980. India defeated Germany in a 5-4 thriller to clinch the bronze medal, even though Manpreet Singh and his boys were trailing by 1-3 in the second quarter of the game.

India lost two of its heroes from the 1980 Olympic gold medallist hockey team – Ravinder Pal Singh and Maharaj Krishan Kaushik, within a span of few hours, with both of them succumbing to Covid-19. As reported, both of them were hospitalised and on ventilation after testing positive for the virus.

Dhanraj Pillay has stated that it is essential to have consistency in the Indian hockey team to achieve the desired result and they should focus on that. The former India skipper has also added that he wants to dedicate his entire life to the sport of hockey and its development in the country.

94-year-old Indian gold medalist, Balbir Singh has stated that winning the gold medal at the 1948 Olympics, feels like an event that took place yesterday. He also stated that winning a gold medal against India’s once colonial masters was highly patriotic and out of the world feeling for him.