Tokyo: A brave and determined Indian women's hockey team etched its name in the history books by entering the Olympic Games semifinals for the first time, stunning three-time champions and world No.2 Australia 1-0 in an intense last-eight tie here on Monday.
A day after the Indian men's team entered the Olympic semifinals following a 49-year gap, the world No. 9 women's side also produced a phenomenally gritty performance to make it way into the last four.
Drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur rose to the occasion when it mattered and converted India's lone penalty corner in the 22nd minute to surprise the Australians.
Coming into the match, the odds were totally against India as in Australia, a mighty unbeaten opponent, awaited them.
"We are so happy, it is the result of hard work that we put in for several, several days. In 1980, we qualified for the Games but this time, we made the semifinals. It is a proud moment for us," Gurjit said after the match.
"This team is like a family, we have supported each other and found support from the country as well. We are very happy," she added.
The Indians, determined to prove a point, produced a strong and brave performance to eke out the win over the Hockeyroos.
How much it meant for the team and Indian hockey in general could be gauged from the emotions that were on display after the final hooter went off.
The players screamed, hugged each other, and got into a huddle with their Dutch coach Sjoerd Marijne with tears of joy rolling down their faces.
India's best performance in the Olympics came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games where they finished fourth out of six teams.
In that edition of the Games, women's hockey made its debut in the Olympics and the sport was played in a round-robin format with top two teams qualifying for the final.
The Rani Rampal-led side will play Argentina in the semifinal on Wednesday.
The South Americans cleared the quarterfinals for the first time since 2012 after a 3-0 win over Germany.
Argentina's women team have never won an Olympic hockey gold medal, but clinched silver both at the 2012 London Games and the 2000 Sydney Games, the latter being where they earned the nickname Las Leonas, or lionesses.
