The revival of Indian hockey: A Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 preview

Indian men's hockey team. (Photo: Twitter)

Since the depleted six-team event at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, India neither won an Olympics medal nor made it to the top four at the World Cup for several decades. We have discussed that on these pages.

Since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, India never made it to the top six either. The nadir came when they failed to qualify for Beijing 2008. They did little better at London 2012, finishing 12th out of 12 teams. In between, they reached the final of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, but were thrashed 0-8 by Australia. And they fared little better at the World Cup.

Of course, they were doing reasonably against Asian sides in the Asian Games, they won bronze at Guangzhou 2010 and gold at Incheon 2014. In the Asia Cup, they clinched bronze at Ipoh 2013 and gold at Dhaka 2017. And in the Asian Champions Trophy, they got gold at both Kuantan 2016 and Muscat 2018.

But at the global level, India struggled to find their lost mojo. Their performance in the 2018 World Cup, in Bhubaneshwar, thus came as a pleasant surprise. They steamrolled South Africa 5-0 and Canada 5-1 and, between the two triumphs, held Belgium to a hard-fought 2-2 draw. This was no easy feat, for Belgium went on to win the World Cup.

Tied on points, they even topped the group. In the quarter-final, Akashdeep Singh put them ahead against the Netherlands, but the Dutch struck twice to knock India out. India finished at sixth place — not a rank top teams would be proud of — but a significant improvement on how they had been playing for several decades.

Things were suddenly looking up. India also won bronze at the Jakarta Asian Games and gold at the 2018-19 Men’s Hockey Series. While that featured teams beyond Asia, the Pro League teams — Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Pakistan, among others — were all absent. At the same time, India trounced Russia 4-2 and 7-1 at the Olympic Qualifiers.

When the Indian team set off for the Tokyo Olympics — delayed by a year due to COVID-19 — the fans back home had, perhaps, expected them to do better than they had at any point since 1980. After all, they were coming into the Games ranked fourth.

Indian men's hockey squad. (Photo: Twitter)

The rise of the phoenix

India began with a 3-2 win against New Zealand, but when Australia demolished them 7-1, a familiar sense of déjà vu crept in back home. With convincing wins against Spain (3-0), Argentina (3-1), Japan (5-3), and in the quarter-final, Great Britain (3-1), India stormed into the semi-final for the first time in more than four decades.

This match, against Belgium — whom they had held to a draw at the World Cup — began in dramatic fashion. Belgium scored first, but Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh put India ahead by the eighth minute. Belgium scored again, but the scoreline did not alter until only 11 minutes remained. Then Belgium scored thrice, and that was that.

However, there was still an opportunity, to bring a bronze medal back home, with a win against Germany. They did get there, but only at the other side of probably the match of the tournament.

Like Belgium, Germany scored first, and maintained the lead until the first quarter. Simranjeet equalised, but the Germans kept tormenting the Indian defence, and were up 3-1 by the 25th minute.

But India hit back yet again, from two penalty corners. First, Hardik Singh converted a rebound. Harmanpreet was next, when he scored with a trademark drag-flick. A minute after the half-time, Rupinder Pal Singh put India ahead with a penalty stroke. Three minutes later, Simranjeet converted an open-net opportunity. After being 1-3 down, India scored four times in seven minutes to flip the lead.

Germany scored in the final quarter, but could not break through after that. They launched one attack after another, the Indian defence held, none more than goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. Thousands of fans back home waited with bated breath when Germany got a penalty with under 10 seconds to go, but Sreejesh pulled off a brilliant save to help India clinch their first medal in 41 years.

It will be unfair to reduce India’s performance in the tournament to that one victory. The change in the side was visible. Barring the Australia match, where they were thoroughly outplayed, India matched every opposition in pace, fitness, and athleticism, and did not stop hammering away at the opposition even after being down by one, even two goals.

After years, the Indian team seemed on a par with the best, not only in Asia but in the world.

What lies ahead?

At the World Cup, India are pitted in Pool D, along with England, Spain, and Wales — the first two of which are likely to pose a threat. However, India are acquainted with all three sides, all of whom they had met in 2022.

India finished third at the Pro League 2021-22. (Photo: Twitter)

India finished third at the Pro League 2021-22 (where Harmanpreet top-scored with 18 goals), over the course of which they beat Spain 5-4 but lost to them 3-5. In the two matches against England, they drew 3-3 and won 4-3. India are at second place in the current edition, 2022-23: they have not met Great Britain, but their results against Spain read 2-3 and 2-2.

And at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games (where they won silver), they drew 4-4 with England and thrashed Wales 4-1. There are, and will be, hurdles, but acquaintance with the opposition is not among them.

Neither is the quality of the team in doubt. The medals at the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, along with other silverware, bear testimony to that.

To prepare for the World Cup, the Indian team had toured Australia for a five-match Test series. Australia did win four of these, but India’s 4-3 win — against the top-ranked side in their den — was no mean feat. In their other matches of the Pro League so far, they have beaten New Zealand 4-3 and 7-4.

There is every reason for the fans to be optimistic.

Key players

Harmanpreet Singh: Probably the best drag-flicker in the world, Harmanpreet will lead the Indian side. He won the FIH Player of the Year — Men’s in 2020/21, and played a key role in India’s bronze-medal-winning campaign at the Tokyo Olympics. He did the hat-trick when India beat England 4-3 last year in the Pro-League, scoring his 100th goal for India in the process.

Manpreet Singh: It was under Manpreet that India staged that remarkable comeback in Tokyo, turning things around after the 1-7 humiliation against Australia. The most-capped member of the side, Manpreet will play a pivotal role.

PR Sreejesh: The immovable wall in front of the Indian goal-post, Sreejesh — the Indian captain at the 2016 Rio Olympics — was named the World Games Athlete of the Year in 2021.