Indian Women's Hockey skipper proud of her team as thrilling Tokyo Olympics run ends

Following the Indian women's hockey team bronze medal match loss at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, team captain Rani Rampal said she is proud of the team's efforts though they couldn't experience the historic Olympic podium finish. India's dreams were shattered after suffering a close 4-3 loss at the hands of the Rio Olympics gold medalists Great Britain in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 women's hockey bronze medal match.

Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal said, "We are feeling so disappointed because we were so close. And we were 2-0 down and then we equalized and we were 3-2 up. I don't know what to say, but yeah it hurts a lot because we couldn't win the bronze medal".

Speaking on the team's performance, Rani said, "But I think everyone just gave their best, so I am proud of the team. Playing in the Olympic Games and finishing top four is not easy. We came a long way. I think now we were closer, but sometimes close is not good enough.

She added, "But I'm still proud of the team, how throughout the tournament we worked so hard and played as a team together."

Indian Women's Hockey team loses to Great Britain

Explaining Great Britain's second-half gameplay, Rani said, "Even though when we were 2-0 down, we still stayed together and fought for the two goals." 

Hoping to inspire the young girls of India, Rani stated, "I would like to thank each and everyone back home because they supported us a lot and they believed in us that we can achieve something here. And still, I know even though we didn't win the bronze medal, they will back us up because we have inspired the country. And this is what we need from them, we need support from them." 

Drag flicker Gurjit Kaur, whose two goals didn't help India a secure win, said that luck was probably not on their side and it will be a tough loss to digest.

She added, "It was a very tough loss but we put in a lot of effort. It was a tough loss, but every single player gave their 100 percent."

Gurjit stated, "We have created history. We can't blame anyone. It was a team effort. We were simply not lucky today." 

(Image credit: PTI)