Paris Olympics 2024: Five reasons why Indian men's hockey team are among medal favourites

Published at :July 26, 2024 at 10:15 AM

Modified at :July 26, 2024 at 10:15 AM

The Indian men’s hockey team are capable of improving on their performance at Tokyo.

Eyes of fans around the world will be glued to their television sets, when eight-time Olympic gold medalists- the Indian men’s hockey team begin their Paris Olympics 2024 campaign on 27th July.

The team ended a 41-year-old medal drought at the Olympics, by clinching a bronze in the last edition at Tokyo. India were the underdogs at that time, but they managed to peak at the right time, going down fighting against Belgium in the semi-finals, before defeating Germany in the bronze medal clash.

Ever since that campaign, the team have experienced a roll-coaster in terms of form. They clinched a silver at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022. But, an early exit at the FIH World Cup 2023 in Odisha followed. Later in the year, they clinched the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022, thus sealing an Olympic quota.

The team ranked seventh in the world have struggled for form recently, having finished seventh among nine teams in the FIH Pro League last season, despite playing a number of matches at home. They were also whitewashed in a five-match test series against Australia earlier this year.

The road to winning a medal in Paris is arguably tougher than last time, with teams like Australia, the Netherlands and Great Britain (whom India had defeated in the quarter-finals in Tokyo) in great form. India will need to be consistent throughout the tournament, in order to have a chance of medaling at the sporting extravaganza.

Success at Tokyo

Out of the 16 members who made the cut for the Paris Games, 11 of them were part of the Tokyo bronze medal-winning squad. The team would be stepping on the field, knowing that they can beat the best in the world.

While the counter argument might be that there could be more pressure on them this time, the likelier possibility is that there would be less nerves this time around. The core of the team has experienced all kinds of emotions on and off field and the players would be knowing what to expect this time.

Nemeses in same pool

India lost two matches in the previous edition: against Australia and Belgium. This time both these teams are in the same pool as that of India. India should be confident of ending up in the top four of the pool at the least and qualifying for the quarter-finals. They would get to avoid both these teams in the last eight.

If they meet either of them in the semi-finals, the worst possible case will see them getting another shot at a podium finish, via the bronze medal match. Obviously, there is also no reason why India can’t beat Belgium or Australia!

Infact, India would want to put up good performances in the group itself and avoid the likes of the Netherlands and Great Britain in the quarter-finals to ensure an easier path ahead.

Limitless experience combined with exciting youth

India’s goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh is playing his fourth consecutive Olympic Games and still is one of the best in the world. The same is true for then skipper at Tokyo, midfielder Manpreet Singh.

Five players will be making their Olympics debut. While the likes of Abhishek and Sukhjeet are top-class forwards, Jarmanpreet Singh will have a key role in defence apart from supplying the forwards from the right flank.

The team has the ideal balance of experience and youth, which is required to succeed in big tournaments.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh

The skipper is arguably India’s most important player. His lack of form at the World Cup last year was one of the biggest reasons for India’s early exit.

As they say: “Form is temporary, class is permanent.” He finished among the top three goal scorers at the Pro League this season, with 12 goals. During penalty-corners, his powerful strikes are almost always on target bringing the goalkeeper into action, making him one of the best drag-flickers in the world.

This should not shadow the fact that he is a world-class defender too!

Defeats have been close

While India have struggled for form recently, few defeats have been an outright mauling. A number of matches in the Pro League, against top teams like Great Britain and the test series against Australia, have seen India leading, sometimes even by more than one goal, only to end up conceding. Late goals have been an issue for India for a long time, leading to draws and marginal defeats by one goal.

Coach Craig Fulton, who was the assistant coach of the Belgium team which won gold at Tokyo, has a ‘defence first’ philosophy. While this has not been visible in India’s recent performances, one would believe that he has worked hard on this during the long break after the end of the Pro League.

If India can stop conceding silly goals, especially at the end, they could be one of the biggest medal contenders!

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