Looking Ahead: What's next for Indian hockey after Tokyo Olympics?

There are several prestigious tournaments on the horizon for both the men's and women's national teams.

The recently concluded Tokyo Olympics have turned out to be a landmark tournament for Indian hockey. The Indian men's hockey team ended a 41-year wait for a podium finish at the quadrennial event by claiming a historic bronze medal.

The Indian women's hockey team also delivered a memorable performance that captivated the entire nation. The Women in Blue reached the semi-finals for the first time and were very close to emulating their male counterparts. However, they still won plenty of plaudits for their spirited displays. As such, the sport of hockey has been rejuvenated in India.

With Tokyo 2020 now in the past, it is time to turn their focus towards several upcoming competitions. Let’s take a look at the upcoming hockey tournaments where the Indian teams will be participating:

Men's Asian Champions Trophy 2021

The Indian men's national hockey team will again be in action in the month of October. The Men in Blue will aim to show their prowess on the continental stage. Six teams i.e. India, Bangladesh, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Pakistan will take part. The event will take place from October 1-9.

The competition will be played in a round-robin format. It will take place at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This will be the sixth edition of the competition. India and Pakistan have won three titles each, with no other team winning the crown.

Women's Asian Champions Trophy 2021

The women's equivalent of the continental competition will be held later in October. It will take place at the Donghae City Sunrise Stadium, South Korea from October 24-31. The Indian women's hockey team will aim to reclaim their continental title, having lost to South Korea in the final in 2018.

Six countries will compete for continental bragging rights. They are India, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and China. South Korea are the most successful team in the competition with three titles to their name. The Women in Blue's lone success came in the year 2016.

FIH Men's Junior Hockey World Cup 2021

The young Indian hockey brigade will have the opportunity to defend their world title on home soil at the Men's Junior Hockey World Cup. It will take place in Guwahati in the month of November.

Eight members of the Indian junior team's triumph in 2016 went onto play a crucial role in the senior team's success at the Tokyo Olympics. Therefore, this tournament is the perfect platform for budding players to showcase their talents and possibly secure a path to the senior team.

Hockey Pro League 2021-22

Nine teams will take part in the annual FIH Hockey Pro League. Team India will begin their journey in February 2022. They will take on New Zealand in their opening encounter. The Indians will end their campaign with a match against the Netherlands in June next year.

The Indian hockey team had finished in fourth place in the previous edition. Belgium is the defending champion, having won their first title last season.

FIH Hockey Women's World Cup 2022

The Indian women's national hockey team will be hoping to take part in the Women's World Cup 2022. However, the Asian Qualifiers have been badly hampered due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There is still no clarity on when they will take place.

As for the Women's World Cup, the 2022 edition will be unique. It will take place in two different cities in two countries, from 1st to 17th July. Amstelveen in Netherlands and Terrassa in Spain will host the prestigious competition.

Commonwealth Games 2022

Both the Indian men's and women's hockey teams will make the trip to Birmingham, England for Commonwealth Games 2022. The event will take place from 28th July to 8th August.

At the 2018 edition in Gold Coast, Australia it was identical stories for the men's and women's teams. Both the Indian teams finished in fourth place, after losing their bronze medal match against the same opponent, England.

Asian Games 2022

A busy schedule will continue for the Indian hockey teams. The 19th edition of the Asian Games will take place in Hangzhou, China from 10th to 25th September. This time around, both the Men and Women in Blue will be aiming for glory and have the potential to go all the way.

At the 2018 edition in Indonesia, the men's national team had won the bronze medal. The women's team had managed to go one better and claim the silver. Japan had won the gold medal in both the men's and women's sections.

FIH Hockey Women's Nations Cup

The city of Valencia will host the inaugural FIH Hockey Women's Nations Cup. It will take place from 10th to 17th December 2022. The following eight teams will participate in the very first edition, having qualified based on their position in the FIH World Rankings as on 31 May 2021: Spain, Canada, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea and South Africa.

The aim of this new yearly event is to offer a top-level competition to the best-ranked teams not participating in the FIH Hockey Pro League and give the winning team the option to be promoted to the FIH Hockey Pro League the next season. Therefore, the FIH Hockey Nations Cup marks the start of the promotion-relegation principle for the FIH Hockey Pro League, with the winning team of the first FIH Hockey Nations Cup having the chance to be promoted to the 2023-24 FIH Hockey Pro League.

10th Sultan of Johor Cup (Men's)

Besides the Indian hockey team, Australia, Great Britain, Japan, South Africa, Egypt and Canada have confirmed their participation in the 10th edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup. However, there is uncertainty regarding the competition due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia.

FIH Hockey Men's World Cup 2023

The highly anticipated FIH Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 will take place in India. The home of Indian hockey, Odisha will host the event. Apart from the familiar Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the Odisha government has announced that one more stadium is currently under construction and will also host the event.

The stadium will be named Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium and is being built in Rourkela. It will have a capacity of 20,000. Belgium are the defending champions, but Team India are stronger than ever and will be aiming for glory on home soil.

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