[Watch] Dilip Tirkey gets emotional after women’s hockey misses out on bronze

Bhubaneswar: Former Indian Hockey captain from Odisha, Dilip Tirkey, got emotional after women’s team lost to Great Britain in bronze medal clash at Tokyo Olympics today.

His eyes teared up when the women’s team, which was one of the hopes to get 4th bronze for India, failed despite brave fight against the opponent.

“The Women’s Hockey Team had been excellent in terms of performance in all the matches at Olympic Games in Tokyo. On Friday, the team came up with another brilliant performance. They might have missed the medal, but won everyone’s heart. They lost the match, but they were not vanquished as they leave Tokyo with heads held high after making an unbelievable run into the semis when not many had given them the chance of even reaching the quarters,” Tirkey told news reporters after India’s 4-3 loss against Britain today.

“We missed open field goals today. We failed in last quarters. It was heartbreak for the team as two cards (a yellow and green) in the second half meant India played at least seven minutes with 10 players on the field and that turned the momentum into Great Britain’s favour,” he said adding, “It was difficult match for us as we fought with only 10 players. The most heartbreaking moment was the women players broke down on the ground with great disappointment after losing the match.

He praised Gurjit Kaur, Deep Grace Ekka and Vandana Katariya for their excellence performance at the clash.

“The performances of Gurjit Kaur, Deep Grace Ekka were excellent. Salima Tete created the next goal for India with a storming run from inside the defensive third into Great Britain’s shooting circle and took a shot but the ball came off a defender’s foot and India earned a penalty corner,” Tirkey further said.

He said that the women’s team was stronger than men’s team. Over the years, the team has improved and gave a tough fight at Olympics.

“We felt the craze for hockey across the globe. The way both men’s and women’s hockey teams played in Olympics, the global spectators acknowledged it as one of the popular sports.

He expressed special gratitude to Odisha Government for its major contribution towards promotion of hockey in the country.