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India's national sport hockey is one of its biggest contenders for a medal in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which is slated to start on Friday, July 26, less than two days from now.
The men's team of the sport has given India eight gold, one silver and three bronze medals in total in the Olympics so far, including a run of six consecutive gold medals from 1928 to 1956.
This makes the men's field hockey team India's most prestigious and historic of all, and they are deservedly treated like royalty inside the Olympic Village among others in the contingent.
Rules of the sport
The rules of field hockey are pretty simple and easy to understand. A pitch is 91.40m long and 55m wide. The goals, located at each end, are surrounded by a D-shaped shooting area.
Goals can only be scored from inside the opponent’s shooting area, and not from outside. Each team consists of eleven players each; the players use a hook-shaped stick, with which they control, drive and hit the ball.
Only the flat side of the said stick can be used. A match consists of four periods of fifteen minutes each, leading to a total game time of sixty minutes.
Format and path to medal
The format of the hockey event in these Games is based on a league-cum-knockout basis. Twelve teams are divided into two groups each, with the top four in each group proceeding to the quarterfinal stage.
The winners of the quarterfinals will proceed to the semifinals, whose winners will play in the final match on Thursday, 8 August for the men and Friday, 9 August for the women.
The group stage games are scheduled to start for both men and women on Saturday, July 27. India are placed in pool B in the men's event while the women's team did not qualify for the Paris Games.
