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The Indian hockey team received a thunderous welcome on their return from the Paris 2024 Olympics. The bronze medalists at the Summer Games in Paris arrived in Delhi today (August 10) and were welcomed in a grand manner.
The team landed at the Indira Gandhi International airport during the morning hours and were greeted with garlands and loud drum rolls. The celebratory moments were captured in a clip posted by SAI Media on the social media platform X (Twitter).
The 'Men in Blue' were beaming with glee as they danced in jubilation to the beats of the drums at the airport. The video was posted with a congratulatory caption which read 'OUR HOCKEY CHAMPS ARE BACK'.
The team led by Harmanpreet Singh were seen flaunting their bronze medals along with the Indian flag around their necks. The players, particularly Sukhjeet Singh, were also seen pulling out some special dance steps as they embraced the celebrations.
Indian hockey team achieves a historic podium finish at the Paris Olympics 2024
The Indian hockey team defeated Spain 2-1 in the bronze medal match to clinch the third-place finish in Paris. By doing so, the team registered a historic podium finish at the Summer Games. It is after 52 years that India won a second consecutive medal in hockey at the quadrennial event, since Munich 1972.
The team had also won the bronze medal at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. In Paris, India looked in ominous touch as they ended the pool stages ranked second in their group. The team also achieved another historic feat in Paris when they defeated the mighty Australians 3-2, another first since 1972.
The Indian hockey team looked well on their way to making it to the finals but failed to do so. They were beaten 2-3 by Germany in their semifinal encounter. The Germans went on to lose to the eventual gold medalists Netherlands 3-1 in penalty shootouts.
