Paris Olympics: Quarterfinals First Target As Hockey Team Chases Second Successive Medal

Raj Kumar Pal: India ended a long 41-year-old drought for an Olympic medal in men's hockey in Tokyo and now face a bigger challenge of breaking a long dry spell when it comes to winning medals in back-to-back Games. India last won medals in successive Olympic Games in 1968 and 1972 -- bronze medals in Mexico and Munich.

India is the most successful nation in Olympic hockey having won eight gold medals, six in a row. But those medals came four decades back and the hockey world has changed a lot since those years and winning back-to-back medals is not that easy nowadays.

And India does face a huge challenge when they step on the synthetic turf at Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in the 12-team men's hockey competition.

India have been grouped in Pool B with defending champions Belgium, former winners Australia, Argentina, and New Zealand along with Ireland while Pool A comprises Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, hosts France and African champions South Africa.

The first target for Indian men will be to finish among the top four in the group to qualify for the quarterfinals. The real battle will start after that.

The build-up for India has been quite disappointing, especially the test series in Australia and the eight Pro League matches in Antwerp and London. India lost most of these matches, which resulted in the team finishing seventh among nine teams in the Pro League. That has also resulted in India's ranking plummetting from top-five to seventh in the world in the FIH Rankings.

For the Paris Olympics, the selection committee comprising Dr. R.P Singh, Balwinder Singh, Mohd Riaz, M.M Somaya, Sardar Singh and B.P Govinda has picked an experienced team with 11 players who were part of the team that won the bronze medal in Tokyo.

Two of them, goalkeeper P.R Sreejesh and Manpreet Singh, who was captain of the team at Tokyo, will be playing in their fourth Olympic Games while five players -- Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay, Raj Kumar Pal, Abhishek, and Sukhjeet Singh -- will be making their debut.

With the nucleus of the 16-member squad comprising 11 players from Tokyo, the team has the experience to help them face the challenges in Paris.

However, the issue may not be that easy as the team has undergone a transformation under head coach Craig Fulton -- the approach has changed from a mentality of attack to defense. India have always believed in attack through aggressive Asian-style hockey.

Experts believe that the team should have a strong defense with everyone from forwards to defenders contributing to blocking the opponents' attack in their half itself. But the total defensive approach may not sit well with the players whose mentality is to be aggressive.

India will start their campaign against New Zealand in their opening match on July 27. Besides this match, the clash against Ireland will be quite crucial because winning both of these matches will at least ensure that the teams may finish fourth in their group and qualify for the quarterfinals.

In other matches, India will meet Argentina Only on July 29, face Ireland the next day, defending champions Belgium on August 1, and clash with former winners Australia on August 2.

The groupings:

In other matches, India will meet Argentina Only on July 29, face Ireland the next day, defending champions Belgium on August 1, and clash with former winners Australia on August 2.

Pool B: Belgium, India, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Ireland.