A year largely shaping up to be below par for the Indian men’s hockey team. And the women were nursing the wounds of a major slump and disunity in the ranks.
This they did by toppling favourites and holders China. If the men’s gold was expected, yet it was a story of redemption, and the victory was hard fought. In the Pro League—typically a testing ground— India languished in eighth place out of nine teams, avoiding relegation that befell Pakistan.
The men for the first time also defended the title, while the women ended a 44-year wait—their only title had come in the 1982 New Delhi Asiad where women’s hockey made its debut. Having booked their tickets to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the teams can look forward to starting a promising era.
Because we were still conceding one or two, but (at the World Cup) we weren’t scoring enough goals. Those struggles were carried to the grand stage in August when the Harmanpreet Singh-led outfit crashed out of the World Cup, finishing a dismal eighth. Despite being the only team to medal at the last two Olympics, the Craig Fulton-coached squad looked bereft of answers. “We wanted to improve our penalty corner (PC) attack and keep as many clean sheets as we possibly could. Our PC attack and defence were excellent. That ended up being the difference. “This time (two years) is a unique opportunity Sjoerd has created for his push to the Olympics.
“The big area was in attack, final third and finishing a lot of what we started collectively, not just individually,” chief coach Fulton told HT on Sunday, reflecting on the team’s revival after the World Cup. “Sjoerd got them to peak at the Games, which was a priority while preparing and playing at the World Cup,” the Aussie told HT from Perth. Hawgood said the next steps must help sustain the momentum. “Expose the talent from below and the wider squad, with a few tours to each one of them, so that you can compare what a player may look like with 24 months of growth, compared to maybe some that have reached their ceiling, but are still contributing,” he said.
