NEW DELHI: India men's hockey skipper Manpreet Singh on Tuesday said he feels happy that his team was able to come back with a bronze medal from the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics.
"I am feeling really great, it had been a long time since we had won a medal in hockey at the Olympics, the last time we won it was before I was even born. The entire squad is really happy that we were able to come back with a medal," Manpreet told ANI.
Talking about the group-stage 1-7 loss against Australia, Manpreet said: "We were disappointed after the match against Australia, we had lost 1-7. After the game, we all analysed our performances, after the game coaches told us that we did not play that badly and we need to stay motivated and look ahead. Australia had luck on their side, we just focused on the games that were scheduled after Australia."
Last week, the Khel Ratna Award was renamed after hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. Speaking about this move, Manpreet said: "It is a very big thing for hockey, Khel Ratna Award has been renamed after Major Dhyan Chand. It is a good thing for hockey, both men's and women's teams performed really well at the Olympics and after that, the government decided to rename the Khel Ratna Award."
The Indian men's hockey team, which ended a 41-year medal drought by clinching a bronze medal in Tokyo, rose to 3rd in the International Hockey Federation (FIH) World Rankings, behind Belgium and Australia, respectively.
Before this feat, the Manpreet Singh-led side's career-high ranking was No.4, which they achieved in March 2020 on the back of their scintillating performances in the first three rounds of the second edition of FIH Hockey Pro League 2020.