Ireland’s run to the final in the recently concluded Hockey World Cup has been one of the greatest sporting moments of this year. The team comprising of doctors, lawyers and teachers beat teams ranked much higher than them and made it to the final, wherein they lost to Netherlands 0-6.

The loss notwithstanding, the country celebrated their biggest achievement in hockey till date in some style. Ireland’s best performance in the World Cup before this was the 11th place finish in 1994 when it hosted the tournament.

The team arrived at the Dublin Airport on Monday to a warm welcome with the players’ families and friends gathered there. And, according to Irish Times, the country’s Minister for Sport Shane Ross greeted the team as well. He said their achievement in reaching the World Cup final was one of the greatest ever in Irish sport.

The team, then, reached the Dublin City Council for a public ceremony, wherein they were cheered by thousands of fans.

The Irish women won a lot of hearts in their journey to the World Cup final. As the second lowest-ranked team, they weren’t expected to advance beyond the group stage. The team’s head coach Graham Shaw even conceded after the group stage win against India (that booked them a quarter-final berth) in the group stage that they hadn’t booked their accommodation beyond the quarter-final.

The 2018 World Cup was Ireland’s fourth since the inception of the tournament in 1974. With Irish Hockey running on a shoestring budget, they resorted to crowd-fund, to support tournament participation. Until last year, each player was on a 550 Euro levy just to compete.

Making it to the World Cup itself was a big deal for Ireland, let alone playing in the tournament’s final.

After qualifying for the final, a member of the team, Elena Tice said: “We are the underdog in every game and in every game it is like we have won the World Cup.”

They exceeded everyone’s expectations, including their own.

“In every single game we have battled tooth and nail,” she said. “We are a young team and we have had to learn quickly. Our forwards set the tone with their energy and our midfield team are so hard working.”

The team’s ranking will improve considerably which could be crucial when it comes to the Olympic qualifiers for Tokyo 2020.

Ireland’s Minister for Sport Ross has announced an additional 1.5 million Euros in funding for Olympic preparation this year, with a significant amount going to women’s hockey.

With most members of the team young, this team – with proper funding and training – will be a formidable team at 2020 Olympics in Tokyo if it manages to get there.