Indian men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh revealed that his mother told him that his dad would have been proud of him after the Tokyo bronze while speaking at India Today Conclave 2021.

Manpreet Singh led the team to a historic bronze to end India’s 41-year wait for an Olympic medal in the sport. India’s last of the eight Olympic gold medals came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games.

“It was my late father’s dream that I would go to the Olympics and win a medal for India,” Manpreet Singh said while speaking at India Today conclave.

India Today Conclave: Full Coverage

“All his dreams came true but, on the day when I received so much love and support after winning the medal, he wasn’t here to see all of this. My mother told me he’d have been proud of me,” Manpreet added.

Manpreet, who hails from Mithapur in Jalandhar, had given the bronze medal to his mother while he took a nap on her lap. The special moment was captured and shared on social media by the 29-year-old hockey superstar.

India had endured a 2-5 loss to Belgium in the semifinals, which put paid to their hopes of gold at the Games. Manpreet said coach Graham Reid shook the players out of the disappointment by telling them to stay focussed on the playoff game.

Manpreet started playing hockey at the age of seven. He was around 11 when he went to Lucknow to play hockey. At the age of 20, Manpreet represented India at the 2012 London Olympic Games..The team have returned to India they have been receiving warm welcome and praise.