Watch: Indian Hockey Team returns home to a rousing welcome after winning bronze at Paris Olympics 2024
Members of the Indian Hockey team, who successfully defended their Olympic bronze won at Tokyo 2020 in Paris, including captain Harmanpreet Singh, were welcomed by fans outside the airport upon their arrival.
Jubilant fans, family members, and friends welcomed the Olympic heroes on Saturday as the Indian Hockey team arrived in the national capital. Several members of the Indian Hockey team, who successfully defended their Olympic bronze won at Tokyo 2020 in Paris, including captain Harmanpreet Singh, were welcomed by fans outside the airport upon their arrival.
OUR HOCKEY CHAMPS ARE BACK!??????
¡ª SAI Media (@Media_SAI) August 10, 2024
Fresh from their Olympic medal pursuit at the #Paris2024Olympics, our Indian Men's Hockey Team returned to an amazing welcome at the Indira Gandhi Airport, New Delhi. ??
The consecutive medallists have emulated their predecessors from 52¡ pic.twitter.com/hfQ97j4nqc
'Overwhelmed by the support'
Captain Harmanpreet said the warm welcome left him quite overwhelmed.
"It is very heartwarming to see Indian fans come out to receive and congratulate us for the bronze medal. The team left no stone unturned in preparing for the Olympics, and to see your efforts bear fruit, to see the whole country rejoice in our victory, is an inexplicable feeling," he said.
#WATCH | Indian Men's Hockey Team players celebrate as they arrive at Delhi airport after winning a bronze medal at the #ParisOlympics2024 pic.twitter.com/UN5edgVqIJ
¡ª ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2024
'Thank you, fans'
The 28-year-old also thanked the fans for their support throughout the tournament.
"We have received all the support, and all our requirements were fulfilled. I really want to thank you. The love that is being showered upon hockey doubles our responsibility. We will also try that whenever we enter the field, we come back with a medal," Harmanpreet said.
CREDIT: PTI
Sreejesh to be flag-bearer at closing ceremony
Some of the Indian Hockey team members, including former captain and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who retired after the bronze medal match against Spain, are still in Paris.
Sreejesh will be the joint flag-bearer of India for the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Sunday, along with double-medallist Manu Bhaker. He will be joined by other members of the Hockey team, including Amit Rohidas, Raj Kumar Pal, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, and Sanjay, at the closing ceremony.
Also read: Thank you, PR Sreejesh, 'The GOAT' of Indian Hockey
CREDIT: PTI
India wins back-to-back Olympic bronze in Hockey
On Thursday, India came back from behind to beat Spain 2-1 in the bronze medal match at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in the French capital, thanks to two goals from Harmanpreet and some brilliant saves by Sreejesh.
CREDIT: ANI
It is the first time since 1972 that India has clinched a second consecutive medal in the Olympics.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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