Paris [France]After a crushing 3-2 defeat to world champions Germany in a thrilling semi-final that went down to the dying moments, the Indian men's hockey team will turn its attention to Spain, who will be their bronze medal opponent at the ongoing Olympics in Paris.

Meanwhile, Spain lost to the Netherlands 0-4 in the semi-finals on Tuesday after recording a surprise win against Belgium in the quarter-finals.

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“We are extremely disappointed as our dream of playing in the Olympic final did not come true,” team captain Harmanpreet Singh said in a statement released by the Hockey Federation of India. “We did not give up at any point; we fought bravely till the last moment.”

In the match against Germany, Harmanpreet scored India's first goal in the seventh minute, after which Germany equalised in the 18th minute through Gonzalo Bellat. World No. 2 Germany took the lead in the 27th minute through Christopher Royer. Fighting India equalised in the 36th minute through Sukhjit Singh's brilliant shot. Unfortunately for India, Marko Miltkow scored an unbeaten goal in the 54th minute to take the lead and Germany defended it with all their might.

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Disappointment was evident at the inability to “change the colour of the medal” – a hope the team has expressed eloquently since returning with a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

“It won't be easy to forget this defeat. We are almost there and it is everyone's dream to change the colour of the medals this time. But now, we will focus on the bronze medal race. “We still have a chance to create history by winning two medals in a row,” Harmanpreet added.

Talking about the credible opponents in Spain, with whom India have won four and lost once in their last five encounters, vice-captain Hardik Singh said: “They are a very good opponent and they are definitely riding on the great confidence that they have in Spain. . their win against Belgium in the quarter-finals. “They are familiar opponents for us and we are looking forward to going home with a medal around our necks.” (ANI)

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