'Wall of Indian Women Hockey Team': Savita Punia garners praise after blocking 9 shots

The Indian women’s hockey team stunned the world on Monday when it defeated World No 2 Australia to secure a birth at the Olympic Semi-Finals in Tokyo. The team, led by Rani Rampal put up an extraordinary performance and defeated the three-times champion by a solitary goal. While drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur rose to the occasion and secured the winning goal, it was Goalkeeper Savita Punia who stood like a bulwark and saved all nine shots directed at her. 

After India’s extraordinary victory, netizens showered accolades on Punia giving her the epithet of “The Wall” on Twitter. Parliamentarian and industrialist Naveen Jindal wrote, “Great game by everyone, Savita was phenomenal." He was joined by  BJP leader Y Satya Kumar, who said, “Wall of Indian Women Hockey Team: Savita Punia.” A netizen meanwhile, drew an analogy between cricketer Rahul Dravid and Punia. 

Meanwhile, the Indian men's hockey team has also qualified for the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics after beating Great Britain on Sunday. This is the first time the men's team has reached an Olympic semifinal since 1980 Moscow, where they had finished first on the podium. The men's team will play against Belgium in the semifinal on Tuesday. Belgium will come into the match on the back of a win against Spain in the quarterfinal.  

India at Tokyo 2020

Indian Shuttler PV Sindhu on Sunday won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after she defeated China's HE Bing Chao in two consecutive sets. Sindhu won her second Olympic medal after defeating Chao 21-13 in the first set and 21-15 in the second. Sindhu is now the first Indian female athlete to win two consecutive Olympic medals, trailing only Indian Wrestler Sushil Kumar. Sindhu is also the second Indian at this year's Olympics to win a medal for India after weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who won silver late last month. 

Image: thehockeyindia/Twitter/ anshuman84m2/Twitter