He endured the pain of returning empty handed from the Olympics four times during his playing days but the legendary Dhanraj Pillay says h...
He endured the pain of returning empty handed from the Olympics four times during his playing days but the legendary Dhanraj Pillay says he has no regrets now after watching the Indian men’s hockey team claim a bronze at Tokyo 2020.
The eight-time former gold-winners, who battled a heartbreaking slump in the last four decades, scripted history at Tokyo by securing an Olympic medal – a bronze – after 41 years.
The last time India had won an Olympic medal in hockey was at the 1980 Moscow Games where they bagged the gold.
On Thursday, India brought an end to the medal jinx after getting the better of the Germans in a thrilling 5-4 win in the bronze medal play off.
“I always had the regret that I could not win an Olympic medal. I used to wonder whether I would be able to see India at the Olympic podium again in hockey. Now with this historic win, I have no regrets,” the former captain told PTI.
“You always go to the Olympics to win a medal and your morale is broken when you end up playing classification matches,” said Pillay, who is the only Indian to represent India in four Olympic Games (1992 to 2004) and as many World Cups and...
