Finishing fourth in Olympics is no small feat: Rani Rampal
She is proud of the effort but Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal is hurting as well after coming within touching distance of an Olympic podium finish only to finish fourth ultimately. The Indians entered the Games' semifinals for the first time and signed off with a fourth-place finish after going down to Great Britain in the bronze medal play-off on Friday.
We're feeling so disappointed because we were so close: Rampal
"We are feeling so disappointed because we were so close. And we were 2-0 down and then we equalized and we were 3-2 up," Rampal said. "I don't know what to say, but yeah, it hurts a lot because we couldn't win the bronze medal," she said after the heartbreaking loss.
Everyone gave their best, I'm proud of the team: Rampal
"But I think everyone just gave their best, so I am proud of the team. Playing in the Games and finishing the top four isn't easy. I think now we were closer, but sometimes close is not good enough," she said. "But I'm still proud of the team, how throughout the tournament we worked so hard and played as a team together," Rampal added.
Great Britain gave their best performance in the second half
The Indians played their hearts out and overcame a two-goal deficit to lead 3-2 at halftime. But Great Britain gave their everything in the second half and scored two goals to snatch the match from India's hands. "Even though when we were 2-0 down we still stayed together and fought for the two goals," Rampal said.
Rampal hopes their performance will inspire a generation back home
Rampal hopes their performance in the Tokyo Games will inspire a generation back home. "I would like to thank everyone back home because they supported us a lot and they believed in us that we can achieve something. And still, I know even though we didn't win the bronze medal, they will back us up because we have inspired the country," she said.
It will be a tough loss to digest: Drag-flicker Kaur
And this is what we need, we need support from them, she added. Drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur, whose two goals were not enough to hand India a win on Friday, said luck wasn't probably on their side and it'll be a tough loss to digest.
