A brave Indian women’s hockey team put up a gritty performance but it was not enough to secure a maiden Olympic final berth as it lost 1-2 to world No 2 Argentina in a hard-fought semifinal on Wednesday.
India still have a chance to win the Bronze medal as they will take on Great Britain in the third-fourth place play-off match on Friday.
The Indians fought valiantly and gave Argentina a run for their money by taking the lead in the second minute through a penalty corner conversion by Gurjit Kaur.
But the Las Leonas bounced back strongly with skipper Maria Barrionuevo’s (18th, 36th minutes) twin strikes from penalty corners to secure the hard-fought win.
The Netherlands will play Argentina in the final on Friday.
The bunch of 18 fearless and determined Indian women had already done the unthinkable when they stunned three-time champions Australia 1-0 on Monday to enter the Olympic semifinals for the first time.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered consoling words to the Indian women’s hockey team, saying the players showed great skill and grit.
“One of the things we will remember #Tokyo2020 for is the stupendous performance by our Hockey teams. Today and through the Games, our Women’s Hockey team played with grit and showcased great skill. Proud of the team. Best of luck for the game ahead and for future endeavours,” Modi tweeted.