Tokyo 2020, women’s hockey: We came close but sometimes close is not good enough, says Rani Rampal

She is proud of the effort but Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal is hurting as well after coming within touching distance of a historic Olympic podium finish only to finish fourth ultimately.

The Indians, beating all expectations, entered the semi-finals of the Games for the first time, and signed off with a fourth-place finish after going down to Great Britain 3-4 in the bronze medal play-off in Tokyo on Friday.

“We are feeling so disappointed because we were so close. And we were 2-0 down and then we equalised and we were 3-2 up. I don’t know what to say, but yeah it hurts a lot because we couldn’t win the bronze medal,” she said after the heartbreaking loss.

“But I think everyone just gave their best, so I am proud of the team. Playing in the Olympic Games and finishing top four is not easy. We came a long way. I think now we were closer, but sometimes close is not good enough.

“But I’m still proud of the team, how throughout the tournament we worked so hard and played as a team together,” Rani added.

The Indians played their hearts out and overcame a two-goal deficit to lead 3-2 at half time.

But Great Britain gave their everything…

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