India defeat Germany 5-4 to end country's hockey medal drought at Olympics after 41 years

India men’s Hockey team scripted history with a 5-4 win over Germany in Tokyo Olympics match to clinch the bronze medal on Thursday. India won a medal in the Olympic Games after a long wait of 41 years as the last time they shone at the biggest stage was in the 1980 Moscow Olympics with a gold.

Simranjeet Singh was the star of the game for India as he scored twice in the 17th and 34th minute of the game. While, Hardik Singh (27th minute), Harmanpreet Singh (29th minute) and Rupinder Pal Singh (31st minutes) scored the other three goals for India.

Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was in inspirational form once again. They had to defend a penalty corner awarded with 6.8 seconds left on the clock. Sreejesh, who has been a Wall for India men's hockey team, denied the Germans the equaliser and won the match 5-4.

Germany, on the other hand, scored through Timur Oruz, Niklas Wellen, Benedikt Furk and Lukas Windfeder, but in the end, had to go back from the Olympics without their customary medal.

Germany had 13 penalty corners but with Sreejesh guarding the post, they managed to convert only one of them.

After the final hooter, there were emotional hugs among the India players and the coaching staff. They all came into a huddle. While, PR Sreejesh climbed on top of the goalpost to celebrate the historic victory.

After the win, many celebrities took to their social media handles to congratulate ‘The Men in Blue’. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan wrote: “Wow!! Indian Men’s Hockey Team Congratulations. Resilience and skill at its peak. What an exciting match.”

Akshay Kumar posted: “Congratulations Team India on rewriting history! An Olympic medal

after 41 years! What a match, what a comeback!”

“Wow ! Wow ! Elated seeing the Indian Hockey Team coming back in grand style from being 3-1 down, fighting back and winning the bronze medal match against Germany, India's first medal in #Hockey since 1980,” tweeted ex-cricketer VVS Laxman.