New Delhi [India], October 10 (ANI): The Indian Men’s and Women’s Hockey Teams returned to India from Hangzhou after a profitable marketing campaign on the nineteenth Asian Games Hangzhou and have been greeted with rapturous applause from the hockey followers current on the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi late Monday night time.
The Indian Men’s Hockey Team gained the gold medal, and the Indian Women’s Hockey Team claimed the bronze medal in Hangzhou. The enthusiastic hockey followers within the nationwide capital gathered on the airport to welcome their heroes who made the nation proud with their splendid efficiency within the largest match of the yr.
The emotional hockey followers surrounded the hockey stars because the Hockey India officers offered the groups with sweets and garlands amongst different tokens of appreciation. The followers additionally performed music and danced on the airport to rejoice the event and showcase their assist for the groups. The members of the family of hockey gamers have been additionally among the many gathering on the airport. The hockey gamers too loved the nice and cozy ambiance and expressed their enjoyment of witnessing the rising appreciation of the game as soon as once more within the nation.
“This journey has been amazing,” Indian Men’s Hockey Team Captain Harmanpreet Singh stated as quoted by a Hockey India press launch.
“We went to Hangzhou with the mindset of being Asia’s best team and we wanted to play accordingly. We kept improving match-by-match which built our confidence, and we came back with the result we desired,” he added.
The Indian Men’s Hockey Team ended the 9-year look forward to the Asian Games Gold medal in Hangzhou. Led by Captain Harmanpreet Singh, India claimed the gold medal defeating Japan 5-1 within the Final, and confirmed their spot for the 2024 Tokyo Olympics. This was India’s fourth Gold medal in Men’s Field Hockey on the Asian Games. India had beforehand gained the Gold medal in 1966, 1998, and 2014.
Harmanpreet added: “Seeing the gathering of fans here further gives us the motivation to now focus on the preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics. We have time, we will work on the areas where we need to improve upon and we will do our best to convert the Olympic Bronze to Gold.”India remained unbeaten all through the match, beginning their marketing campaign with a 16-0 win over Uzbekistan, and following it up with a 16-1 win over Singapore. India defeated Japan 4-2 within the Pool stage after which defeated Pakistan 10-2 to say their biggest-ever win by the aim margin towards their neighbouring rivals. India adopted it up with a 12-0 win over Bangladesh to verify a spot within the Semi-Finals, the place they defeated Korea 5-3 to succeed in the Final. India defeated Japan 5-1 to win the Gold medal.
Meanwhile, the Indian ladies’s hockey crew, too, earned a Bronze medal and a podium end in Hangzhou, claiming their seventh medal within the Asian Continental match. Delighted by the presence of followers on arrival, the Indian ladies’s hockey crew expressed their gratitude and stated that the crew is additional motivated to proceed to do higher within the coming yr.
“It is always a moment of pride for parents when they see us return home with medals in major competitions. It is great to see all the support here and I thank the fans as they motivate us to continue to do even better. I also feel happy for young players as they are witnessing this moment for the first time in their careers and it will be a memorable experience for them,” Savita stated.
India displayed their dominance within the Group Stage, going unbeaten with a spectacular 13-0 win towards Singapore, and following it up with a convincing 6-0 win over Malaysia. A tough-fought 1-1 draw towards Korea showcased their resilience, they usually sealed their place atop Pool A with a powerful 13-0 win over Hong Kong China. However, India went down 0-4 to China to overlook out on the Final however defeated Japan 2-1 within the Bronze medal match to earn a podium end.
Indian Women’s Hockey Team will now compete within the FIH Olympics Qualifiers to earn qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Though our target was to win Asian Games Gold, we are happy with our performance in Hangzhou. We are eager to earn a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics as our target is to get a podium finish in Paris. We will begin training for the Qualifiers soon, and work on certain areas where we could have done better. It is great to see the continuing support of women’s hockey in the country and we want to continue to make the nation proud,” Savita signed off. (ANI)