Paris [France], August 8 (ANI): India field hockey player Mandeep Singh gave a special message to goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who had his last dance at the Paris Olympics.
A brace from skipper Harmanpreet Singh and Sreejesh’s effortless saves secured a bronze medal for India at the Paris Olympics with a 2-1 win over Spain at the Yves du Manoir Stadium on Thursday.
The 36-year-old tapped into his prime form and pulled off a performance that will go down in the history of Indian hockey.
In his last dance, Sreejesh ended his career on high and helped India claim the second-consecutive bronze medal at the Olympics for the first time since the Munich 1972 Games.
Throughout India’s campaign, he faced a total of 62 shots and saved 50 of those to establish his prowess at the goalpost.
After India’s bronze medal triumph, Mandeep, who played with Sreejesh for almost 13 years, said that the team wanted to win for him.
“It feels delightful to win back-to-back medals for the country. We wanted to play this match for Sreejesh as it was his last. He is retiring. We wanted to play for him. We have played with him for 12-13 years. We learnt a lot from him, he is a great goalkeeper. We had to win for him,” Mandeep told ANI.
Before his last dance, Sreejesh was given the title of the ‘God of Indian Modern Hockey’ by Hockey India before the bronze medal game.
In the bronze medal match, India stood in the lead with a 2-1 scoreline. Spain earned a penalty corner to force an equaliser in the final seconds.
While playing in an electrifying atmosphere, the Indian team added a fourth medal to their tally at the Paris Olympics after being down 0-1 after the first quarter.
After the game, emotions took over the Indian players as they celebrated India’s momentous triumph in Paris. Harmanpreet carried Sreejesh on his shoulders to bring a fairytale ending to his career. (ANI)
