Indian men's team defeated Germany 5-4 in the bronze medal match to end the country's 41-year wait of an Olympic medal in hockey on Thursday. Simranjeet Singh was the star of the show, scoring a brace while Harmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh also got their names on the scoresheet. After their thrilling win over Germany, social media was abuzz with congratulatory messages for the Indian men's hockey team. Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir led the wishes, calling the win "bigger than any World Cup".
"Forget 1983, 2007 or 2011, this medal in Hockey is bigger than any World Cup! #IndianHockeyMyPride," Gambhir tweeted.
Gambhir's former India teammate Virender Sehwag also took to Twitter to congratulate the team on a stunning comeback. He called the bronze medal win, a landmark day for Indian hockey.
"Chak De Fattey ! Burraaah A landmark day for @TheHockeyIndia After being down 3-1, INDIA fights back to win the bronze medal match 5-3, a first Olympic medal in #Hockey after 40 years. Mazaa aa gaya #IndvsGer," Sehwag tweeted.
Here are the other reactions:
In the match, India conceded an early goal as Timur Oruz scored in the second minute of the bronze medal clash.
Simranjeet Singh pulled one back for India to make it 1-1. India scored two more goals in the second quarter and at the halfway stage the match was evenly poised at 3-3.
In the fourth quarter, Rupinder Pal Singh gave India the lead after getting a penalty stroke.
Simranjeet then scored again to give India a two-goal lead going into the final 15 minutes of the contest.
Germany started the fourth quarter with an early goal but the Indian defence managed to keep their nerves as they saw off a flurry of attacks from the Germans in the last few minutes to ensure a podium finish.