The Indian women’s hockey team put up a fight against the formidable Argentina in the Tokyo Olympics semifinal. But it was not enough to secure them a maiden Olympic final berth. World no. 2 Argentina won the game 2-1 to advance to the finals. Team India’s medal hopes are still alive as they will now face Great Britain in the bronze medal playoff on Friday. Argentina will go up against the Netherlands in the final on Friday.

The Indians started the game on a high with Gurjit Kaur converting a penalty corner in the second minute of the game. 

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 Indian team had created history on Monday when they defeated Australia 1-0 in the quarterfinal. Their was the Indian women hockey team’s first entry into an Olympic semifinal.

Coming into the match, the odds were totally against India but the side led by talismanic Rani Rampal and coached by master tactician Sjoerd Marijne exceeded expectations.

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India’s best performance in the Olympics came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games where they finished fourth out of six teams.

In that edition of the Games, women’s hockey made its debut in the Olympics and the sport was played in a round-robin format with top two teams qualifying for the final.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the ‘stupendous’ performance of the Indian hockey teams. Modi said that this was one thing that people will remember the Tokyo Olympics for.

Both the men’s as well as the women’s teams remain in contention for the bronze medal. The men’s team had also lost in the semifinals.

In a tweet, Modi said, “One of the things we will remember Tokyo 2020 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.”