Road to Paris, Hockey: How Indian men's team qualified for Olympics? Can they win a medal?

India’s representation in hockey events at the Paris Olympics 2024 will be limited to the men’s team. The Indian women’s hockey team, which impressed in the Tokyo Olympics with a fourth-placed finish, failed to qualify for Paris after losing in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi in January 2024. The Indian men’s team qualified for the 2024 Summer Games by winning the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games.

At the continental event held in Hangzhou, China, India booked their tickets to Paris with a comprehensive 5-1 win over Japan, which in many ways is a big improvement considering how the Men in Blue paved their way to the Tokyo Olympics. After losing in the semi-finals of the 2018 Asian Games, India qualified for the Tokyo 2020 through the FIH Olympic Qualifiers.

The Indian men’s team this time avoided any last-minute harakiri by qualifying well ahead of time. The qualifying process, however, is just the first part of the Games, the biggest test will be how they perform at the Olympics.

Despite enduring a tough journey to Tokyo, the men’s team stunned the hockey world by winning the country’s first medal a gap of 41 years . After losing in the semi-finals to then-world champions Belgium, India shocked a strong Germany 5-4 in the bronze medal match to end the agonising wait of over four decades.

Going into the world’s biggest sporting event, the men’s team will be expected to at least repeat the bronze-medal heroics in a sport which has given India the most medals and top podium spots in the Olympics.

Is a medal possible?

The task, however, is that much tougher.

India are in Pool B alongside defending champions Belgium, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland. Pool A of the men’s hockey event comprises the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, South Africa and France. The format in the hockey competition is pretty simple — pool stage has two groups with six teams each. The top four will qualify for the quarter-finals.

The draw has favoured India to an extent with the No 1 side in the world — the Netherlands and powerhouses like Germany and Great Britain being part of Pool A. World No 7 India’s toughest challengers in Pool B are Belgium (3) and Australia (4).

Australia finished at the top of FIH Pro League 2023-24 and are the favourites to top Pool B with Belgium being another favourite to reach the quarter-finals. The biggest fight is going to be between India, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland for the remaining two slots unless the results go completely against the expectations.

Apart from Argentina, who are ranked sixth, one place ahead of India in FIH rankings, New Zealand and Ireland find themselves in 10th and 11th spot respectively. Even in the FIH Pro League, Argentina finished fourth with 29 points from 16 matches, India were seventh (24), and Ireland (6) came last at ninth. New Zealand were relegated during the 2022-23 season.

This does paint a good picture of the Indian men’s team. They also have some momentum on their side, having beaten Argentina twice, Belgium once and world champions Germany once during the European leg of the FIH Pro League in May-June earlier this year.

They also defeated Ireland in their previous encounter in February 2024.

Under the coaching of South African Craig Fulton, India have changed their approach from a passing side that they were under Graham Reid to a more counter-attacking unit where defence is the priority. Fulton, like his predecessor, also focuses a lot on physical fitness but India ended their FIH Pro League campaign by leaking nine goals in the last three matches after keeping a clean sheet against Germany.

This is something that India cannot afford at the Olympics, and while reaching the quarter-finals doesn’t look like a tough job, giving their best in the knockouts will matter the most.

If India finish third or fourth in their group, they will be up against one of the top two teams in Pool A which is likely to be the Netherlands, Germany or Great Britain.

India’s squad composition

Fulton has picked an experienced squad where veteran forwards like Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Mandeep Singh, despite their struggle in front of the goal, have been picked. Akashdeep Singh, however, has been ignored. Defender and drag-flicker Jugraj Singh has only made it to the alternate athletes list which means the PC (penalty corner) duty, which is expected to be the major source of goals, will fall completely on captain Harmanpreet Singh and Amit Rohidas. Sanjay is also an option but he’s largely unproven.

In the midfield, Hardik Singh is going to be India’s top-most players and will be expected to create chances along with former captain Manpreet Singh.

“This squad embodies a perfect blend of experienced players and promising young talents, giving us the versatility and energy required to tackle the challenges ahead. Our focus has been on building a cohesive team that can adapt to different playing styles and situations, and I believe we have achieved that,” coach Fulton said after announcing his squad.

“As we head to Paris, our goal is clear — to play with heart, skill, and determination. We are prepared to face the world’s best teams and strive for the highest podium. This squad is ready to seize the opportunity and bring glory to India. We are confident in our abilities and excited about the journey ahead."

India’s proud Olympic history in hockey

Indian men’s team has won a record 12 Olympic medals including 8 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals. This is more than one-third of all the medals that the country has won at the Summer Games. The eight gold meals is also a record with the other two coming through Abhinav Bindra in shooting (2008) and Neeraj Chopra in the javelin throw (2020).

Paris Olympics: Indian men’s hockey team schedule

Paris Olympics: Indian men’s hockey squad

Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh

Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay

Midfielders: Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad

Forwards: Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh

Alternates: Nilakanta Sharma, Jugraj Singh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak (goalkeeper)