India women's hockey captain Rani Rampal shared an emotional message on social media after the team suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the bronze medal match against Great Britain at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. "We tried very hard but just could not convert to a medal winning victory," she tweeted. "We are sad and disappointed of being so close but we know that we will comeback stronger and win the hearts of our country," Rani Rampal added. "Thank you everyone for your support and prayers in our journey till here."
India nearly pulled off a phenomenal win against Great Britain, coming back from two goals down to take a 3-2 lead. However, they could not hold onto the lead and Great Britain eventually won 4-3.
The Indian women's team had a rollercoaster journey at the Tokyo Games.
India's campaign in Tokyo got off to a disastrous start, losing their first three matches to Netherlands, Great Britain and Germany.
On the brink of being eliminated in the Pool stage, India won back-to-back matches against Ireland and South Africa to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Pitted against favourites Australia, India then pulled off a huge upset with a 1-0 win to reach the semi-finals of the Olympics for the first time.
However, despite taking an early lead against Argentina, they lost 2-1, before losing their bronze medal match against Great Britain.
The Indian women's team has earned praise for its performances at the Tokyo Games. "We will always remember the great performance of our Women's Hockey Team at #Tokyo2020," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted and added that India is proud of the Rani Rampal-led side.