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Updated August 6th, 2021 at 12:39 IST

PT Usha has a message for Indian women's hockey team; Says 'Well done to my daughters'

Legendary athlete PT Usha has come forward and motivated the Indian women' hockey team after a heartbreaking 3-4 loss to Great Britain in the bronze medal match

Reported by: Karthik Nair
PT Usha, Tokyo Olympics
Image: PTI/@TheHockeyIndia | Image:self
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Veteran athlete PT Usha has come forward and urged the Indian women's hockey team not to get affected by the loss in any manner after going down to Great Britain by 3-4 in their Tokyo Olympics 2020 bronze medal match on Friday.

The Indian players who were eagerly looking forward to winning their first-ever Olympic medal had to wait another day and it was a case of so near, yet so far for the Rani Rampal-led side as they missed out on what would have been a first-ever podium finish in the Olympic Games by a whisker as only one goal separated the two sides on an all-important day.

Tokyo Olympics 2020: PT Usha has a special message for the Indian women's hockey team

Taking to the micro-blogging site, PT Usha wrote 'Well done to my daughters for making it this far at the Olympics'. She then asked Rani Rampal & Co. not to be 'discouraged' by Friday's outcome. The ' Payyoli Express' then thanked the Indian women's hockey team for igniting hope in everyone. The legendary track and field athlete concluded by saying she is sure that this is only the beginning of a 'medal-laden' future.".

Coming back to the contest, 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 bronze medal match on Friday as they failed to ensure a podium finish.

The high-scoring thriller saw Great Britain come out on top with a goal that mattered the most in the final quarter to win the consolation prize.

Goalie Savita Punia had made an outstanding start in the early minutes of the first quarter when the ball was struck directly at the goal and thereby ensured that India did not concede a goal instantly. India did enjoy a lot of possessions which they could not convert as the first quarter ended in a stalemate and while Great Britain did get a penalty corner, they could not find the back of the net courtesy of some good work from the Indian defence.

The deadlock was broken by Great Britain immediately in the second quarter when midfielder Sarah Jones got a lucky breakthrough as she took a penalty corner. GB struck yet again in the same quarter and Sarah Robertson perfectly found the back of the net to put pressure on India. However, India struck back when star defender Gurjit Kaur scored a drag flick to restore her team's hopes. 

In a dramatic turn of events, the Indian women's team found the equaliser in the half-time itself and it was Gurjit Kaur yet again who successfully converted it into a penalty corner. Just a couple of minutes before the second quarter ended, forward Navneet Kaur seemingly missed the back of the net but, Vandana Katariya showed a great presence of mind as India took the lead by scoring their third goal. 

Great Britain found that much-needed equaliser as defender Hollie Pearne-Webb scored one by taking a shot from the front of the goal. 

Great Britain took the lead in the fourth and final quarter when defender Grace Balsdon scored off a penalty corner. India could have found an equaliser if it had it not been for a simple miss near the goalpost which was not to be as GRB players celebrated after the final whistle blew.

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Published August 6th, 2021 at 12:39 IST

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