TOKYO: Indian men's hockey team defender and vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh said the focus of the side has been staying strong mentally in the last one and a half years during their training for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Indian men's hockey team played with all their heart to bring the entire nation joy on a memorable Thursday as they scripted history with a fantastic 5-4 win against Germany in the Bronze medal play-off match.
"It was a proud moment for us when we won the Bronze Medal. It was an emotional moment as well because India has won an Olympic Medal in hockey after a long time," said Harmanpreet in a Hockey India release.
"It's a big thing to win an Olympic Medal and we have made a lot of sacrifices. We were in Bengaluru for one and a half years and there was lockdown. We focussed on staying strong mentally.
"We stayed as a family together in Bengaluru and I think that helped us a lot in the Olympics. The entire team has put in a very good effort and that's why we have won a Medal," he added.
Asked about what was discussed within the team when the score was 3-3 at half-time, the defender said, "Today, at half-time we spoke about owning the moment and making sure that we don't have any regrets after the match. We also spoke about our processes and playing our own game.
"We didn't want to think about whether we were losing or not and we spoke about believing in ourselves, believing in our hard work and looked to play simple hockey," Harmanpreet added.
Indian team forward Simranjeet Singh, who found the back of the net twice against Germany, said that the goals belong to the entire team's effort.
"I tried to give my best in all the matches that I played in this Olympics. There are 11 players on the field and the goal can go to any one of us," said Simranjeet.
"Every player makes a contribution to every goal that we score. I just executed the finishing touches today. The goals belong to the entire team's effort," he added.