Indian hockey team receives warm welcome at Delhi airport after winning bronze at Paris Olympics

NEW DELHI: After winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, the Indian hockey team received a warm welcome at the Delhi Airport on Tuesday.

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.

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.

P R Sreejesh, Abhishek Nain, Amit Rohidas, and Sanjay were among the players who touched down at the national capital today.

One of the team members, Sumit Valmiki, said, “It feels great. Entire India is sending us its love…You can see the atmosphere across the country…Love us more, we will perform even better. Sreejesh gave his best throughout the tournament. We won Bronze due to him…”

#WATCH | Players from India’s #Bronze medal-winning Men’s Hockey Team arrive in Delhi; receive a warm welcome from their families and others.

Visuals from Delhi airport. pic.twitter.com/hmlkiuRiIQ

— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2024

The closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics was held on Sunday night. 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.

Last 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. (ANI)