Hockey is the sport in which India has bagged the maximum number of medals at the Olympic Games. Starting with its first ever gold medal at the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928, India went on to win a total of 8 gold medals in hockey. That is a feat that remains unequalled by any other nation at the Olympic Games. In addition India has also won one silver and three bronze medals.
However nowadays India does not dominate the sport like it used to do in the past. India’s last gold medal came way back in 1980 at the Moscow Olympics. The solitary silver medal was won at the Rome Olympics in 1960 and the three bronze medals came in 1968 (Mexico), 1972 (Munich) and 2020 (Tokyo).
This time, for the Paris Olympics of 2024, India has announced a 16- member team led by ace drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh. This will be his third Olympic Games. After playing as the youngest member of the team at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Harmanpreet had led India to a bronze medal win at Tokyo in 2020 (which was postponed due to the pandemic and then held in 2021).
Five newcomers
The team has five newcomers who will be making their Olympic debut. They are Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay, Raj Kumar Pal, Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh. Whether these first timers will be able to stand up to the pressure on a big stage or not remains to be seen.
Coaching staff
The head coach is Craig Fulton, a 49-year-old former South African hockey player who represented his country at the 1996 and 2004 Olympic Games. In the 2020 Olympics he coached Belgium and is now guiding the Indian team. The assistant coaches are Rhett Halkett, another South African and Sardara Singh and Shivendra Singh of India.
The head coach is very optimistic but it must be noted that India’s current world ranking is at number six. As recently as in April 2024, India had suffered a string of five defeats in matches against Australia played at Perth. Thereafter in the FIH Pro League in the months of May and June, India had mixed results. So going by the latest form, the team needs to do a lot of work.
Cricket victory may boost morale
Aloysius Edwards, former goalkeeper of the Indian team, who was India’s ace custodian several years ago, is of the opinion that the team is very fit and confident.
“The victory of India’s cricket team in the T20 World Cup will be a big morale booster for our hockey players too. As the saying goes, success breeds success and our hockey players must be raring to charge at their opponents,” he said.
One goalkeeper is illogical
“But one thing that I fail to understand is the logic of choosing only one goalkeeper for the team. What could the selectors have been thinking? What if the goalkeeper is injured? Who will take that vital spot on the field? I totally disagree with this policy,” he said.
“No doubt the incumbent P.R. Sreejesh is a very experienced goalkeeper, but in a high pressure situation anything can happen. He is 36-year-old and it would have been good encouragement if a younger goalkeeper had also been selected as the second-choice keeper for the team. It would have sent the right message to the young ones waiting to don the Indian colours. But this step by our selectors will leave them feeling discouraged,” explained Aloysius.
No time to relax
“As for the other teams who will be our opponents in the Olympic Games, I feel that no team nowadays can be taken lightly. Even New Zealand can upset us if we are not careful. Our first match will be against NZ on July 27th. Then we must play against Argentina, Ireland, Belgium, and Australia in succession. All will be very tough matches. Except for the drawback of a single goalkeeper, I am satisfied with the team’s progress. I wish them good luck,” concluded Aloysius.
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