Paris: The Indian men’s hockey team will be looking to put their best foot forward as they kick off a hugely challenging Paris Olympics campaign against dangerous New Zealand here on Saturday.
Having ended a 41-year wait for an Olympic medal with a bronze at the Tokyo Games in 2021 followed by an Asian Games gold in Hangzhou last year, expectations are high from Harmanpreet Singh and Co at the historic Yves-du-Manoir Stadium.
But the current bunch, who have endured a ragged season post the high in the continental bash, know the arduous test that lies ahead of them.
Firstly, it’s the grouping. Although there are no easy games when it comes to the Olympics, India are bunched in Pool B along with defending champions Belgium, heavyweights and three-time World Cup winners Australia, Rio Olympics champions Argentina, dark horses New Zealand and Ireland.
Secondly, it’s the Black Sticks who showed the damage they can cause when they upset India in the crossover quarterfinals at the 2023 World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. Having finished second in the group behind England, India had to battle New Zealand for a place in the quarterfinals.
Leading 2-1 at halftime and seemingly on course for a last-eight spot, India were left stunned by a superb counter-charge from New Zealand who eventually levelled the match 3-3 in the 50th minute and then won the ensuing shootout 5-4.
The Indians were in a complete wreck at their very own home party and that abject performance led to the sacking of coach Graham Reid, the very man who engineered a resurrection at Tokyo.
Skipper Harmanpreet, who himself endured a poor World Cup and was seated beside Reid when the Australian struggled for words to describe India’s early exit, knows the test New Zealand pose but is hoping to exact revenge.
“We have always seen New Zealand as a strong opponent and have discussed this team in detail during our team briefs. It is good to be reminded of the World Cup match against them, so we know we can't drop the momentum at any point in the game. It's important for us to start well and keep up the pressure through the game,” the ace drag-flicker remarked on the eve of the contest.
It is imperative for India to start on a right note because things will only get tougher thereafter in the Group of Death. Barring the games against NZ and Ireland, the remaining are extremely tough and they need to get the maximum out of these two to stay in the race for the quarterfinals.
For that they have to get their tactics right. Current coach Craig Fulton is a stickler for defence while the team likes to attack. They have somewhat adapted to his formula by picking and choosing the right moments to attack but the problem has been the lack of discipline.
Whenever they’ve lunged forward they’ve created spaces for teams to pierce them and they’ve had some bad results in the tour to Australia as well as the Pro League preceding the Games. They lost all five matches against Australia and won just one out of the 8 matches in regulation time in the Pro League.
“We are here on a mission to change the colour of our medal and yes, we are in a tough pool with teams and they are serious contenders for a medal in Paris but on a good day, we have proven to be better than the rest and that's the mindset we will carry into this tournament,” opined Harmanpreet’s deputy Hardik Singh, inferring the team is starting with a clean slate.
India will be looking to put those words to action come Saturday.