Tokyo, Japan, August 4, 2021: The Indian women hockey team’s dream of playing for the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics came to an end as they went down fighting in a 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the semi-finals on Wednesday, August 4.
Goal-scoring hero in the 1-0 victory over Australia in the quarter-finals, Gurjit Kaur, once again came up trumps opening the scoring early in the match, but a brace off pinpoint penalty corners from Argentine captain Maria Noel Barrionuevo broke Indian hearts at the Oi Hockey Stadium.
The loss denied India a shot at history. It was the first time in Olympic history that the women’s team had reached the semi-finals and hopes were high that the dream run would continue.
The Rani Rampal-led Indian team will now meet Great Britain in the play-off for third place and the chance to win a bronze medal.
It will be the same story in the men’s hockey competition too with India playing for the bronze against Germany on Thursday, August 5, after going down to Belgium, 5-2, in the quarter-finals.
India won their second bronze medal of Tokyo 2020 on Wednesday when boxer Lovlina Borgohain, on her Olympic debut, went down 5-0 to reigning world champion Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey.
The flamboyant Turkish boxer was unrelenting in all three rounds, out-punching the 23-year-old Borgohain who was assured of a bronze medal by reaching the last four in the women’s welterweight (64-69kg) category.
Borgohain, who hails from Assam, became the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic boxing medal in nine years, following in the footsteps of legend Mary Kom who won a bronze in 2012 London.
Borgohain’s medal takes India’s overall tally at Tokyo 2020 to three. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won a silver in the women’s 49kg class, and badminton star PV Sindhu won a bronze in the women’s singles.
