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The Paris Olympics 2024 is 10 days away and the Indian hockey team recently ended their preparations for the showpiece event in Switzerland. They will now play a few friendly games in the Netherlands before taking the grand pitch on Saturday, 27 July. However, the national team hasn't been in its best of forms in recent times.
Although India won a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year and secured a historic bronze at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, the recent show of mixed results at the FIH Pro League is a cause of concern for Craig Fulton and his think tank.
However, the only sport in which India has shined for almost a century now at the Olympics is hockey and this time too, they will be aiming at another accolade.
#1 Play well when matters most
As mentioned earlier, the recent form of the national team wasn't up to the mark. The team suffered losses to Great Britain and Germany among others but gained an upper-hand over Argentina, who are placed in the same pool at the Paris Olympics too.
But, India do play well when it matters the most. They have proven that at the Asian Games, where they thrashed Japan 5-1 in the final. Even in Tokyo, they defeated a heavyweight side like Germany to claim an Olympic bronze after 41 years.
#2 Blend of youth and experience
The Indian hockey team in this upcoming Games has a brilliant blend of youth and experience. On one hand, there is goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and midfielder Manpreet Singh, who will be participating in their fourth Olympics campaign, a feat only held by Dhanraj Pillay till now.
On the other hand, there are a few debutants in the squad like astute defender Jarmanpreet Singh and clinical forward Abhishek, who can be equally important in determining the team's output on the pitch.
#3 Part of a balanced pool
India has been placed in pool B of the Paris Olympics. They have been engulfed by Belgium, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. If deeply looked into, it is a pretty balanced pool.
On one hand, there are tough opponents like Belgium and of course, a long shot Australia. On the contrary, India can secure optimistic results against teams like New Zealand, Ireland, and Argentina (whom they defeated some time back).
India's schedule looks balanced as well. They will play their first three matches against New Zealand, Argentina, and Ireland, against whom Craig Fulton will definitely expect his side to win. Next up, they will face Belgium and a hard obstacle in Australia.
So to qualify for the next round, wins in the first three games will be what India would want, keeping them on the safe side ahead of facing heavyweights Belgium and Australia.
