"Now our focus will be the Asian Champions Trophy": Olympics bronze medalist hockey forward Shamsher

After clinching the bronze medal in men's hockey at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, the Indian men's hockey team arrived at New Delhi Airport on Saturday morning.

Speaking to ANI, Shamsher said, "It is a very proud moment for us and the entire nation to win the bronze medal at the Olympics. We received a lot of love from the country. People are talking about hockey. It is a confidence booster for us. We had a lot of trust in the preparations that we did and we decided to take a step-by-step approach, instead of thinking about semis and finals from the start."

For now, we will have some rest, then our focus will be the Asian Champions Trophy and then other big tournaments in 2026. Hockey is getting a lot of support from TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme), SAI (Sports Authority of India), and IOA (Indian Olympic Association)," said Shamsher.

The next edition of the Asian Champions Trophy will be held this year, and India is the most successful team of the tournament, having won their fourth title last year.

Also, forward Sukhjeet Singh told ANI, "We felt a lot of happiness when we won the bronze medal. The whole country was celebrating. We received a lot of messages. Our main focus was the gold medal, but we made some mistakes in the semifinal, there were some lapses. But a medal is a medal. The Indian team is playing well."

Earlier on Thursday, a brace from skipper Harmanpreet Singh and effortless saves by PR Sreejesh secured a 2-1 win over Spain at the Yves du Manoir Stadium, earning India the bronze medal.

Playing in an electrifying atmosphere, the Indian team added a fourth medal to their tally at the Paris Olympics, overcoming a 0-1 deficit after the first quarter.

Sreejesh, who was playing his last game for India, was overcome with emotion as the rest of the team joined him to celebrate this momentous occasion in Indian hockey history.India won consecutive bronze hockey medals for the first time in 52 years, since the 1972 Munich Games.

Under the guidance of coach Craig Fulton, India made history by securing back-to-back bronze medals at the Olympics. Goals from Harmanpreet Singh (30', 33') were enough to seal the victory. Marc Miralles (18') was the lone goal-scorer for Spain.

India had an upper hand in their head-to-head record against Spain at the Olympics, winning seven out of their ten meetings.

Emotions ran high with India's goalkeeper, PR Sreejesh playing his final international game. He was honoured with the title of the 'God of Indian Modern Hockey' by Hockey India before the bronze medal game. (ANI)