Great Britain’s women won the bronze medal at Oi Hockey Stadium after beating India 4-3 in a thrilling clash at the Tokyo Olympics.
Although the Rio 2016 champions relinquished their title following an emphatic semi-final loss to Holland on Wednesday, they dug deep and secured a third successive Games podium finish.
The London 2012 bronze medallists had to dig deep, though, leading 2-0, then falling behind before winning it in the final quarter with Grace Balsdon’s penalty corner clincher.
Ellie Rayer opened the scoring, then Sarah Robertson made it 2-0, only for India to score three times in four minutes during a frantic second quarter, with Gurjit Kaur scoring twice and Vandana Katariya also netting.
Captain Hollie Pearne-Webb equalised in the third quarter, before Britain showed composure to go back in front and close out a fine victory that sparked scenes of wild celebration.
‘I’m incredibly proud of the whole squad, we rely on our whole squad, those here and those back home,’ an emotionalPearne-Webb said afterwards.
‘The past five years have seen a lot of turnover it’s been a tough five years, really, really tough… After winning the ultimate dream [in Rio] it’s been a big challenge.
‘There have been so many challenges collectively and individually. Even a few months ago bronze was beyond our wildest dreams.’
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