August 6, 2021 8.53 am This story is over 31 months old

Olympic bronze medal for Lincolnshire’s Shona McCallin in Tokyo

She’s now a double Olympic medal winner!

Shona McCallin and the Team GB hockey team won bronze at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Lincolnshire hockey player Shona McCallin has won an Olympic bronze medal at the Tokyo Games after her team beat India in a 4-3 thriller this morning.

Shona, from Dry doddington, near Grantham, was part of the incredible women’s hockey team who managed to clinch a bronze medal – and keep their place on the podium.

The win is Shona’s second Olympic medal after getting a gold in Rio in 2016, and it’s the third in a row for the talented team.

A well-earned bronze medal for Shona McCallin and Team GB at the Tokyo games.

Shona said: “It feels better than gold to be honest. We’ve had a bit of a rough five years of injuries and the squat have been through some low points and has come out, fighting at the Olympics and showing everyone what we’re about and how we can perform and to come out with a bronze medal is amazing.

“I’ve probably been home a handful of times in the past year. But what’s great about technology is that you can FaceTime your gran from an 11 hour flight away and it feels like I’m in the same room with her and I’ve been lucky enough to have really supportive family and really enjoyed having chats with them and friends as well.

“[It’s] kept me going throughout throughout the Olympics since I’ve been away.”

Shona’s mum, Wendy, told the BBC: “We tried to get a bit of sleep but that really didn’t happen, so the double Olympian is still sinking in.”

Wendy stayed up until the early hours of the morning to watch the match and said she felt ‘elated’ with the outcome.

She said: “I’m just so proud of the girls, the word battle describes it, they battled, it was fantastic.”

Goals from Ellie Rayer, Sarah Robertson, Hollie Pearne-Webb and Grace Balsdon held off a spirited India comeback.

The medal was the nation’s 52nd in Tokyo, meaning Team GB have now exceeded the 51 they won at Beijing 2008.

Hockey captain Hollie Pearne-Webb said: “I’m incredibly proud of this squad. Olympic bronze, even just a few months ago, was in our wildest dreams. I’m so proud of all the girls, the whole squad, the whole support staff that have been involved.”

Team GB sealed bronze in a pulsating medal match that sparked into life in five frantic second-quarter minutes, producing four goals.

Two Gurjit Kaur goals from penalty corners inside 100 seconds cancelled out Rayer’s deflected opener and Robertson’s fine reverse stick effort.

India took a 3-2 half-time lead through Vandana Katariya but Team GB bossed the second-half, skipper Pearne-Webb slapping home a ninth international goal and Balsdon converting a penalty corner to wrap up the win.

The medal comes after heartbreak in the semi-finals following a 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands.