TOKYO: The Indian women’s hockey team missed out on a bronze medal in the Olympic Games here today after losing 3-4 to Great Britain. Both teams laid down their lives on the podium. Attempts were made to score from both sides in the first quarter, but due to good defense, neither team was able to open an account and the first quarter ended with a score of zero.
Then early in the second quarter, a goal was scored by Great Britain. Forward Rear Elena Sian scored a field goal in the 16th minute to give Britain a 1-0 lead. The second goal of the second quarter was also scored by Great Britain. Midfielder Robertson Sara scored in the 24th minute.
After trailing 2-0, the Indian team came back and scored 3 consecutive goals in the 25th, 26th and 29th minutes. Defender Gurjeet Kaur converted a penalty corner in the 25th and 26th minutes, while forward Vandana Kataria scored a field goal in the 29th minute. With these three brilliant goals, India ended the second quarter in a strong 3-2 position. Then in the third quarter, captain Pirne-Webb Holly scored a brilliant goal in the 35th minute to level Great Britain 3-3. 13 minutes latter defender Balsden Grace scored from a penalty corner to give Great Britain a 4-3 lead. After this, in the last 12 minutes of the rest of the match, the Indian players tried their leve best to score but in vain and the Great Britain won the match 4-3.
Though team lost the crucial match but Inspite of losing the match indian team indeed won the hearts and the girls are being praised for their excellent sportsmanship. The Haryana government has announced a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh each to nine Haryana girls in the Indian women’s hockey team. Manohar Lal Khattar also tweeted about it.
