Five talking points from India's men's hockey team squad for Paris Olympics

Harmanpreet Singh will lead India’s men’s hockey team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

With eight gold medals, India’s men’s hockey team has been the most successful team in the history of the Olympics. The past might be great, but India have struggled in recent years. India won their last gold medal in 1980 and it took them 41 years to win another medal, as the Tokyo Games saw them take home the bronze.

India would want to get their golden reign back and have announced the squad for the same. India are known for picking a tried and tested combination for big tournaments. As a result, the team is more or less on expected lines.

Paced in Pool B along with defending champions Belgium, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland, the Indian team will aim for their ninth gold. In this article, let’s look at the five talking points from India’s squad for the Olympics.

5. Five players to make Olympic debut

Five players will be making their Olympic debut in Paris. Defenders Jarmanpreet Singh and Sanjay will look to support their skipper Harmanpreet Singh. Abhishek, one of the goalscorers in the Asian Games final along with Sukhjeet Singh and Rajkumar Pal will be donning the Indian jersey with Olympic logos for the first time.

The head coach of the Indian team Craig Fulton has been emphasizing the need for versatile and energy-filled youngsters, which not only suits India’s style of play but is also a necessity in a tournament like the Olympics, as there will be back-to-back high-pressure games where both physical and mental fitness is paramount.

4. Sreejesh continues to be the wall

The experienced PR Sreejesh is the only goalkeeper in the squad and will again be one of the key players for India’s medal chances. There were few doubts about his place in the last year with the emergence of young Krishan Badhur Pathak and Suraj Karkera, who won the Goalkeeper of the Tournament at the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy when India won the bronze.

But, the Kerala-born custodian has been preferred given his experience and form. India had three shootout wins in the season and the 36-year-old was the hero. In the 0-5 test series loss earlier this year against Australia, Sreejesh was one of the few bright spots. He will again be the axle behind India’s defence in the quest for the gold.

3. Relying on experience for goals

Forwards are India’s ‘Achilles Heel’ going into Paris. India’s field goal percentage is just 40 in 2024 and the team can’t be expecting drag-flickers to win games single-handedly. India have preferred experience to solve their attacking woes by picking the likes of Lalit Upadhyay and Mandeep Singh over the likes of Araijeet, who has been one of the bright young talents on the circuit thanks to his ball-striking ability.

Fulton has also picked Gujrant Singh one of the only two field goalscorers in the recently-concluded test series against Australia and Abhishek, who was on the score-sheet in the Asian Games final. The forwards have to step up big time and score more field goals, if India are to dream of challenging big teams to win medals in Paris.

2. Drag-flickers: Force behind India’s push for gold

Harmanpreet Singh, India has one of the best drag-flickers in the world and he will be the team’s primary scoring option. He will have to do the bulk of the work when it comes to penalty-corners as Jugraj Singh has been kept as the alternative. The team does have quality backup in Amit Rohidas and Sumit to send rockets past the opponent’s goalkeeper.

India won a long overdue bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and drag-flickers Harmanpreet Singh and Rupinderpal Singh were the primary scorers. If India continue to have a high conversion rate from penalty-corners, then they could end up improving the colour of their medal.

1. Defend To Win: India’s mantra for Olympics

Ever since Craig Fulton took over as head coach of the team, the focus has been on the defensive unit. India have been conceding goals in heaps due to a lapse in concentration for a brief period and midfielders losing possession during transition. The Indian team management wanted to reinforce their defence and backed Vivek Sagar Prasad over Nilakanta Sharma.

Vivek suffered a drop in his speed and effectiveness due to an injury. But a fit again, Vivek has been brought in to bring control in the midfield and structure their attack. They would expect the midfielders, Hardik and Shamsher Singh to track back and defend. Skipper Harmanpreet will have the biggest job of leading the defence.

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