Tokyo Olympics: The bronze medal match defeat is just for the record books, the Indian women’s hockey team has actually won | Tokyo Olympics News – Times of India

India women lost? Who said that? Every sweat bead of theirs was an effort worth a diamond. That in itself was a victory. They came back after losing three games. That was a victory. They beat Australia. That was a victory. They entered the semifinals. That was a victory. They came back from 0-2 down to lead in the third-place match. That was a victory. Who said the Indian women’s hockey team lost to Great Britain in the bronze-medal match at the Tokyo Olympics?
The 3-4 defeat could be for the record, but the road India travelled since July 30 had milestones every step of the way. Before that, India had lost three pool games back to back.
If the goal scored between skipper Rani and Navneet Kaur against Ireland had Shahabad’s fingerprints all over it, Vandana Katariya took the thrilling comeback script to another level against South Africa.
India needed a win at all costs in their last pool match. Vandana put an emphatic stamp on it. She became India’s first woman hockey player to score a hat-trick at the Olympics. And if it was not for her, there was little chance India could have won the 4-3 nail-biter for a place in the quarters.
Vandana’s father passed away three months ago, and Covid-related restrictions didn’t allow her to leave the camp in Bengaluru to travel home and attend the last rites. After the win over South Africa, she surely would have looked up to the sky to say, “Dad, this one was for you.”

Indian players huddle after losing their women’s hockey bronze medal match against Great Britain (PTI Photo)
The Gurjit Kaur story is right from the fairytale pages.
India had scored just once off the 21 penalty corners earned in the Great Britain (7) and Ireland (14) games. Gurjit is considered one of the best drag-flickers in women’s hockey currently. But it was more a mirage than a fact every time she stepped up to flick during those two games.
But it changed in the next match.
India had Australia standing between them and a historic semifinal entry. The Hockeyroos were the clear favourites. The game warmed up, India got a PC and in came Gurjit, with the pulse rate of an archer with a stretched bow. A rub of the stick on the turf, and she ripped in a lip-smacking flick to breach the Aussie post. India won 1-0.
The Gurjit story didn’t end there, even if her next set of goals couldn’t take India through. She scored in the 1-2 semifinal defeat against Argentina and then twice to bring India back from 0-2 down in the 3-4 defeat in the bronze-medal playoff against Great Britain (GBR).
Hear about Navneet. She suffered a cut above her eye before the last match against GBR, needed four stitches and played with a bandage on the brow. But she never gave up.
Savita has been inconsolable since the defeat against Great Britain on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the team to congratulate the girls for their historic campaign. But Savita was so choked that she couldn’t utter a word, after standing like a rock in the Indian post across eight matches.

Indian players react after losing their women’s hockey bronze medal match against Great Britain. (PTI Photo)
Talk about Neha Goyal, who endured a traumatic childhood. Her mother, who worked at a cycle factory, got Neha admitted to a hockey academy because she didn’t want her daughter’s mind to be scarred by the abuse her alcoholic father would subject them to. The Tokyo campaign will further change their fortunes.
Such stories are nothing less than a win for each one of them.
And consider this to evaluate what India’s finish in the top four meant for the nation.
Salima Tete’s family in Simdega was gung-ho about India’s entry into the semis. But there was a problem. There was no television where they could watch her play an Olympic semifinal. What happens next? Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren gets a Smart TV installed at her residence. Those are the kind of Indian sentiments attached to hockey. And that’s no less than a win for the sport.
Janneke Schopman, who is the analytical coach of the Indian women’s team, is a two time Olympic medallist with the Dutch team — a silver medal at Athens and gold at Beijing 2008.
She put together the most appropriate words to explain what it is like now for the girls and what it will be like a few months down the line.
“They are still hurting and hurting really badly,” said Schopman talking to journalists over a virtual press conference after India’s defeat against Great Britain in the bronze-medal match.
“In a couple of months, they will realise how special this was, how special this journey was…I have said it before and I can say it because I have won medals. The medal in itself is nice but it doesn’t make the difference, the journey makes all the difference. A medal is a nice add-on.
“I won a silver medal in Athens, but couldn’t care less about it, honestly, because the journey wasn’t worth it, whereas Beijing was a great journey for me,” she added.
Schopman, who has been recommended by the team’s outgoing chief coach Sjoerd Marijne to replace him, couldn’t have said it better.
It will hurt for a while, but soon the sweetness of the journey and the memories will bring the smiles back on the faces of the players.
“For the girls, they will understand (later) that this was a great journey, but just not right now.”