Balsdon On Bronze: “It’s A Dream Come True”

Kate Richardson-Walsh once said that Grace Balsdon only scores rockets, and that statement would once again be shown to be true.

This time it would come on the biggest stage, at the most important of moments.

Having seen Great Britain level with India heading into the final quarter, Balsdon’s thumping drag flick would prove to be the game winner and earn the defender her first Olympic medal.

Balsdon reflected on the magnitude of the moment, saying: “The goal means everything. I really pride myself in my attacking penalty corners so it's a dream come true. We've worked super hard on them so it's a dream to see it come off like that.

“I’m extremely happy. We've worked incredibly hard, all the heat chamber work we've done has paid off. It's an unbelievable feeling.

“To get three medals is a special legacy to be part of. We've got such a good strong squad with real depth, and we'll look to continue it for years to come.”

It’s been another incredible Olympics for GB goalkeeper Maddie Hinch.

Five years on from the glory of Rio 2016, when her incredible display during that shootout played a starring role in winning gold, yet more Hinch heroics would help the team to another Olympic medal.

Bronze at Tokyo marks three consecutive Olympic medals for Great Britain’s women – Laura Unsworth, Hinch’s long time teammate, appearing in all three – and the goalkeeper gave her thoughts on that achievement: “I’m so so proud of this group.

“It’s hard to put into words what this journey has been like. It’s been the biggest emotional rollercoaster since Rio, for me personally it’s been really tough.

“We deserve it here. We knew that if we could find the form that we’ve shown in pieces over the last five years and consistently put that together then we’d be in the running. To come home with a medal is just a remarkable achievement for this group and I’m just so proud of the girls.

“We like to keep things exciting don’t we! My heart rate was through the roof. There was a reason India were in this medal match, they’ve got a cracking corner and we knew that would be a big threat. We had to ride out patches, but we knew we had more goals in us and just needed to tidy up a little at the back to reduce their corner count. I’m glad it’s over!”