Amid millions of people praying for their bronze at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday, the Indian women's hockey team fell short of achieving their maiden medal in a nerve-racking match with Rio Olympic champions Great Britain.
Playing in their first-ever medal match at the Olympics, skipper Rani Rampal and her squad fought valiantly until the very end. But still came out second best as Great Britain's ladies overcame their stiff resistance to secure a 4-3 triumph. Overall, it proved to be a nail-biting contest witnessed at the Oi Hockey Stadium in the Japanese capital.
India's spirited effort was undone by Britain's attackers in the final quarter, leaving most of the Indian players in tears.
Such was the spectre of India's defeat that Rampal and her teammates simply couldn't believe their luck as they felt shattered, with vice-captain and goalkeeper Savita Punia becoming inconsolable immediately after the match.
The hero of Great Britain's victory was Grace Balsdon, who handed them the advantage with her stunning goal in the last 15 minutes of the clash.
In fact, it was her late strike from a penalty corner that proved to be decisive as it came after the scores were tied at 3-3 at the end of the third quarter.
The Indian women's team's loss came as a shock to many fans, considering they dominated the proceedings for the majority of the encounter.
While Britain made a great start as they fired the first goal in the game, the Indians began to show their mettle with the in-form Gurjit Kaur and Vandana Kataria, scoring a brace and a goal respectively to give them the upper hand in the third quarter.
With the score reading 3-2 in their favour and the British seemingly having no idea how to counter the Indian attack, Rampal and her colleagues looked set to make history. But perhaps, it was not to be.
A major twist led to a change in the whole complexion of the match after India's Udita was handed a yellow card by the referee with just 5 minutes to go on the clock.
As India was left with only 10 players, the British realised that it was their best possible chance to put pressure on the Indian defenders.
Subsequently, they made the most of their opportunity as Balsdon delivered the match winning goal, ending the Indian women's dream of their first Olympic medal.