Tokyo, Aug 5 (IANS): India defeated Germany 5-4 in a high-intensity goal fest to win the bronze medal in men's hockey, their first medal in Olympics after a gap of 41 years.

India fought back brilliantly from a two-goal deficit to score an impressive 5-4 win that reminded its fans of the glory days when the Indians were a force to reckon with in World hockey.

Simranjeet Singh scored two goals while Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinderpal Singh, and Mandeep Singh scored a goal apiece for India while for Germany Oruz, Furk, Nicolas Whellen, and Windfeder were on target.

India saw Germany take an early lead with Timur Oruz scoring within two minutes of the match. Germany troubled Indian defence in the first quarter, but could not find a way to extend lead. In the 2nd quarter, India saw Simranjeet Singh scoring from a well-executed tomahawk shot, but defensive errors lead to Germany scoring two more goals within two minutes.

Just when it looked India might be in trouble, two penalty corners for India yielded results as Hardik Singh scored on the rebound from the first one, while Harmanpreet Singh scored another with a superb dragflick on to the back of the nets. Rupinder Pal Singh and Simranjeet Singh scored two more goals in third quarter. Lukas Windfeder pulled one back in the final quarter, but it was not enough for Germany to push it to the shootouts.