The Indian men's hockey team on Thursday beat Germany 5-4 in a thrilling encounter to clinch the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. With the win, India ended a 41-year wait for a hockey medal at the Olympics. The medal marked a remarkable turnaround for Indian hockey after years of struggle in the sport. The lowest point in Indian hockey's fall from grace came in 2008 when they failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time.
Four years later, they finished last out of the 12 teams that participated at the London Games. However, Thursday's bronze medal win has revived hopes of a new start for the sport in India. In the nine editions of the Olympic Games between India's previous medal in hockey and the latest one, India qualified on eight occasions and their best finish was fifth in 1984 at the Los Angeles Games.
The medal in Tokyo came after significant improvements in the performances of the men's national team in recent years. This was the 12th time that India secured a medal at the Olympics.
Here is a look at all the instances of India winning a medal at the Summer Games:
1928, Amsterdam Olympic Games: Gold medal
1932, Los Angeles Olympic Games: Gold medal
1936, Berlin Olympic Games: Gold medal
1948, London Olympic Games: Gold medal
1952, Helsinki Olympic Games: Gold medal
1956, Melbourne Olympic Games: Gold medal
1960, Rome Olympic Games: Silver medal
1964, Tokyo Olympic Games: Gold medal
1968, Mexico City Olympic Games: Bronze medal
1972, Munich Olympic Games: Bronze medal
1980, Moscow Olympic Games: Gold medal
2021, Tokyo Olympic Games: Bronze medal