The SAVE That SAVED India: PR Sreejesh stops Spain with 1.13 mins left to bronze medal for India

Paris Olympics 2024: India defeated Spain in the bronze medal match of the ongoing Paris Games. The Indian Hockey Team and its fans endured a massive heartbreak after Germany defeated the blue brigade in the semis. India have defended their Olympic bronze and how. As usual, Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh stepped up and scored two goals in the historic match. At one point in time, Spain were leading, but a gritty Indian team was determined to pull the game back.

PR Sreejesh Signs Off In Style

This was PR Sreejesh's last match in the Indian colours. The Indian goalkeeper has had his share of criticism but he did join the party and saved an important goal when Spain were looking to get the lead. With 1.13 minutes left in the last quarter, Sreejesh miraculously saved a goal that was fired at the Indian goalpost.

Watch The Sreejesh Special Save Here.

'As I stand between the posts for the final time, my heart swells with gratitude and pride. This journey, from a young boy with a dream to the man defending India's honour, has been nothing short of extraordinary. Today, I play my last match for India. Every save, every dive, every roar of the crowd will forever echo in my soul. Thank you, India, for believing in me, for standing by me. This is not the end, but the beginning of cherished memories. Forever a custodian of dreams. Jai Hind', wrote Sreejesh on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account before the India vs Spain Bronze Medal Hockey match.

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India vs Spain Bronze Medal match: Here's How It happened

Skipper Harmanpreet Singh rose to the occasion once again with twin strikes as the Indian hockey team beat Spain 2-1 to claim a second consecutive bronze medal at the Olympics and give a perfect send-off to veteran custodian P R Sreejesh here on Thursday.

The Indians recovered from the heart-wrenching 2-3 defeat to Germany in the semifinal and played positive hockey for most part of the match to come out trumps. Harmanpreet (30th, 33rd minutes) converted two penalty corners after Spain skipper Marc Miralles gave his side the lead against the run of play in the 18th minute from a penalty stroke.

The Indians regrouped themselves and showed their mental strength to claim another podium finish at the world's biggest sporting spectacle. This was after they broke a 41-year jinx by claiming a bronze in Tokyo three years ago. The 36-year-old Sreejesh came up with some excellent saves to leave his mark in the final game of his illustrious career that spanned 18 years.

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The Indians were the aggressors in the first quarter, dominating the early exchanges with precision, but Spain came back hard after the first 15 minutes. Spain had nine penalty corners as against India's six of which the latter converted two.

Spain did have better share of possession but India were the more offensive side as they penetrated the Spanish defence regularly in the first 15 minutes. They walked in with more purpose and intensity in the second quarter and pressed hard on the Indian goal. Spain took the lead in the 18th minute but Harmanpreet brought his A game to the fore yet again to steer India through.

(With PTI Inputs)