An Indian state has decided to name roads and schools after the members of the men’s hockey squad that recently bagged a medal at the Tokyo Olympics after nearly 41 years.
As many as 11 players in the Indian men’s hockey team belong to the northern state of Punjab.
In a statement, the Punjab government has said that the move to name a road and a school in the localities of the respective medal-winning players aims at inspiring the youth to take up sports as a career.
“The players have made the country proud after nearly 41 years, and naming roads and schools after them would be a small token of appreciation,” Punjab’s School Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla told the media.
On Thursday, the Indian men’s hockey team scripted history at the Tokyo Olympics by defeating Germany 5-4 to bag a bronze medal at the quadrennial sporting extravaganza after over four decades.
The country’s last success at the Olympics came in the 1980 Moscow games in Russia, where the men’s hockey team got the gold. In the 1968 Mexico games and the 1972 Munich games too, India bagged bronze.
Soon after the win on Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up the winning men’s hockey team members in Tokyo and congratulated them for finally breaking the Olympic medal jinx.
“Many, many congratulations to you and the entire team, you have made history. The entire country is filled with joy. Your hard work has paid off. The entire country is happy,” Modi was heard saying in a video posted by Indian Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Twitter.
“Historic! A day that will be etched in the memory of every Indian. Congratulations to our Men’s Hockey Team for bringing home the Bronze. With this feat, they have captured the imagination of the entire nation, especially our youth,” Modi had tweeted earlier that day.
In fact, in the match, Germany had taken an early lead with Timur Oruz scoring a goal in the first quarter. India’s Simranjeet Singh soon equalled the scores of the two team.
Germany, however, bounced back with two more goals in the second quarter to lead 3-1. However, the third quarter proved lucky for India. And subsequently, Simranjeet scored his second goal of the match to give India an edge over Germany.
Source: United News of Bangladesh