Commonwealth Games 2018: India to stake their claim at gold from 5th April
It's been 16 years since India last climbed to the 1st position in any discipline of field hockey at the Commonwealth Games. The Indian men's team came close but failed to clear the final hurdle in both Delhi CWG 2010 and Glasgow 2014.
However, this time around, both the hockey teams are raring to go and display the killer instinct that was once synonymous with the invincible team of the 50s.
Coached by stalwarts like Sjoerd Marijne and Harendra Singh, both the Indian hockey teams shall stake their claim for the elusive Commonwealth gold medal, when the hockey tournament starts at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre from 5th of April.
Tournament format
In both men's and women's, there are 10 teams divided into two pools of 5 teams each. The 5 teams will play each other, at the end of which the top two teams from each pool will make it to the semifinals, and subsequently the medal playoffs.
Given below is the schedule for the field hockey event, as laid out by the Gold Coast CWG organizing committee.
- 5-11 April :- Preliminaries [Men's team and Women's Team]
- 12 April:- Semifinals [Women's Hockey Team]
- 13 April:- Semifinals [Men's Hockey Team]
- 14 April:- Medal playoffs [Men's Team and Women's Team]
Indian men's hockey team: Time to end the golden jinx
Though the Indian men's team suffered a setback at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2018 by finishing in a disappointing 5th position, it doesn't reflect the true picture, since India did not send forth their full strength team. Therefore, the men's field hockey team, led by star midfielder Manpreet Singh will go out all guns blazing against Pakistan when the two meet in their inaugural match on 7th April.
This tournament is a golden opportunity to not only strengthen themselves for the next major challenge, i.e. the upcoming Champions Trophy and the Jakarta Asian Games 2018, but also end the final phobia which has cost them two historic gold medals, at Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014, both against the team that will now act as hosts, i.e. Australia.
Though they're virtually invincible at home, Sjoerd Marijne has other plans. Having led the Indian team to another Asia Cup victory, in 2017, along with a bronze medal at the FIH World Hockey League Finals, coach Marijne believes in achieving the unthinkable.
Given his newfound partnership with ex-Aussie player Chris Ciriello, who was instrumental in securing two CWG gold medals for Australia, and now the analytical coach of the team, the Indians are slowly converting themselves into a team that wants to win at any cost. As such, it won't be a huge surprise if the team actually manages to climb the podium with the gold medal. Given below is the team's schedule for the pool stage:-
- India vs. Pakistan - 7 April
- India vs. Wales - 8 April
- India vs. Malaysia - 10 April
- India vs. England - 11 April
Indian women's hockey team: Can they relive the Chak De moments?
Led by Rani Rampal, the Indian women's hockey team, coached by Harendra Singh, are now a far cry from the sloppy team we witnessed at Rio Olympics 2016. Though it's been 12 years since they last made the podium, the Indian women's hockey team have put the past behind and are now extremely eager to show their newfound might to teams like Olympic champions England, ex-world champions and defending champions Australia et al., when they begin their campaign at the Gold Coast CWG 2018 against Wales from 5th of April.
Coached by the man who led India to a historic Junior Hockey World cup title after 15 years i.e. Harendra Singh, the Indian women's hockey team are now mainly focusing on attacking hockey. The approach yielded results in the Asia Cup, where a relatively weaker Indian team shocked the likes of Asian powerhouses like China, Japan etc. to clinch their first title in 13 years.
Though India will have a significantly stronger challenge once they reach the semifinals, the team gives a damn about it, courtesy Harendra Singh, who likes to term himself 'a bad loser'. Given below is the schedule of the women's hockey event:-
- 5 April:- India vs. Wales
- 6 April:- India vs. Malaysia
- 8 April:- India vs. England
- 10 April:- India vs. South Africa
Squads:
Indian men's hockey team:-
Goalkeepers: Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera
Defenders: Rupinder Pal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (Captain), Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (Vice Captain), Sumit Kumar, Vivek Sagar Prasad
Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, S.V. Sunil, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Dilpreet Singh
Indian women's field hockey team:-
Goalkeepers: Savita Punia (Vice Captain), Rajani Etimarpu
Defenders: Deepika, Sunita Lakra, Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam
Midfielders: Monika, Namita Toppo, Nikki Pradhan, Neha Goyal, Lilima Minz
Forwards: Rani Rampal (Captain), Vandana Kataria, Lalremsiami, Navjot Kaur, Navneet Kaur, Poonam Rani