Indian hockey vice-captain Hardik Singh has expressed his disappointment at not winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. They had to settle for a bronze after beating Spain 2-1 in the bronze medal match.
The Indian team lost to Germany in the semi-final match by 3-2 and hence could not make it to the final to compete for the gold medal match.
Hardik Singh said that despite making it to the podium, the team is disappointed to have missed out on a gold medal as the team was playing well and the momentum was on their side.
We highly value this medal: Vice-captain of the Indian hockey team, Hardik Singh
She also expressed her disappointment at not winning the gold medal after leaving New Delhi on Saturday morning from Paris.
“We are disappointed that we couldn’t win the gold. We were playing really well, the momentum was on our side. In the semi-final against Germany, we were unlucky and lost. But still we value this medal a lot,” Hardik told ANI.
Hardik further spoke about coach Craig Fulton’s role in helping India reach the bronze medal match. He said that as a coach, Fulton backed all the Indian players to win the gold medal at the Olympics.
“Guidance and advice from a coach helps a player. If a player is supported in every match and tournament, even he himself feels that he has to give 100 percent in every match,” he said.
The Indian vice-captain further spoke about India’s intention to win the gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“We have always had gold as our goal. Hopefully we can win it in 2028,” he said.
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On Thursday, a brace from captain Harmanpreet Singh and effortless saves from PR Sreejesh secured a 2-1 win over Spain at the Stade Yves du Manoir, earning India the bronze medal. India came back from 0-1 down to win the bronze medal match against Spain. Indian goalkeeper Sreejesh was playing his last match in the bronze medal match against Spain.
He was almost on the verge of tears when his teammates joined in the celebration. India won back-to-back bronze medals in hockey for the first time in 52 years, since the 1972 Munich Games. Two goals from Harmanpreet were enough to seal the win for India. Spain scored a goal from Marc Miralles.
Hardik Pandya rested for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Talking about Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, he played in the T20I series against Sri Lanka and played a major role in the team’s series win.
The selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar has chosen Suryakumar Yadav instead of Hardik Pandya as the next captain of India’s T20I team. Agarkar said that Hardik’s fitness was one of the main reasons why he was not chosen as the captain of the T20I team.
The management decided to rest him for the ODI series, which proved costly. Shivam Dube, who played as a seam bowling specialist and all-rounder, could not make up for Hardik’s absence. India lost the series 2-0 after drawing the first ODI with a win needed in 14 balls.
It was a shocking defeat for India under Gautam Gambhir, who won his first T20I series as a coach.
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