India hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh on Wednesday said that his side was unlucky to lose to Germany in the Paris Olympics semifinal despite creating several chances but termed the back-to-back bronze winning performance a “huge achievement”. India repeated their 2021 Tokyo Games performance in Paris, defeating Spain to win consecutive bronze medals for the first time in 52 years. The keenly-contested semifinal earlier saw India going down to reigning world champions Germany 2-3 to set up a bronze-medal match with Spain.

“It (semifinal vs Germany) was a very close match. I think we created a lot of chances but you can say we were not lucky that day and some chances were off target,” Harmanpreet told PTI Videos during a felicitation ceremony organised by the Odisha government.

“But I think the bronze medal was very important. It was the last match of the tournament and feeling very happy after winning the match. Our effort was that we should fulfil our dream (of winning gold) but somehow we were unlucky.

“But, still, we had the bronze medal to play for. So, we went into the match with that mindset that we will win. We’ve won back-to-back medals in hockey; it’s a very big thing for us,” he added.

Harmanpreet was left speechless with the reception given to the players, saying the team gets the same affection every time it comes to Odisha.

“And, this time, we are getting all the more affection. Whenever the team comes here, be it to play in a tournament or after winning a medal, it always feels nice… we get a lot of respect,” added Harmanpreet.

On the occasion, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced cash prizes for the members of the team with star player from the state Amit Rohidas getting Rs four crore. India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was given Rs 50 lakh while other players in the squad got Rs 15 lakh each. The support staff got Rs 10 lakh each.

Harmanpreet also thanked the state government for sponsoring hockey.

“It (Odisha) has one of the best facilities in India; good stadia, good grounds and we were getting so much support from the Odisha government. To organise such major tournament and get the crowds to the stadia is a big thing and I on behalf of the team want to thank the state,” he said.

Odisha has become the hub of hockey in the last few years organising several big-ticket competitions for men and women, including World Cups, Asian competitions and Pro League matches among others.

The felicitation ceremony, which was attended by the state’s chief minister, saw a grand welcome being accorded to the players.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)