After the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Indian hockey team also performed brilliantly in the Paris Olympics 2024 and clinched the bronze medal for the second time in a row. This is after 52 years that the Indian hockey team won medals in two consecutive Olympic Games. Lalit Upadhyay was part of a team in both editions of the Olympics and he revealed the secret of how he chose hockey as a career.
In an exclusive conversation with Sports Tak, Lalit revealed that he faced many financial challenges.
“I never want to be like a superstar. A person chooses a sport for two reasons. First is that he loves that game very much. Second is out of compulsion and I chose hockey out of my compulsion. Because if you play hockey, you will get a job and at that time there were more jobs than playing hockey. For the family I belonged to, a government job is a big thing” said Lalit.
He revealed that after playing for years it turned into a passion and featuring for India was his dream come true.
“Gradually it turned into a passion and I did not know when. When I played for India for the first time, I felt that I had fulfilled my dream. But when you become an Olympian and win a medal, it is not for you but for the country. Then you do something for the country” added Lalit.
India won the bronze medal by defeating Spain
The Indian hockey team had made it to the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics 2024 but after losing against Germany they featured in the bronze medal match. In the bronze medal match, India registered a historic win by defeating Spain 2-1. With this, goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, known as the wall of Indian hockey said that it was his last Olympic match.
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