CWG 2022: 3 reasons why the Indian men's hockey team are serious contenders for gold at Birmingham
The Indian men's hockey team are yet to win gold at the Commonwealth Games despite making it to the finals on two occasions. The Indians ended up fourth in 1998 and in 2018 but registered two successive podium finishes in 2010 and 2014.
No team apart from Australia has managed to win the coveted gold medal in the men's hockey competition at CWG. The Kookaburras have reigned supreme in all six editions of the tournament that hockey has been a part of.
Ever since hockey was introduced into the Games in 1998, Australian men have dominated like no other nation has. The Kookaburras first won the competition by beating hosts Malaysia 4-0 in Kuala Lumpur 24 years ago.
A 5-2 win against the New Zealand Black Sticks in the 2002 CWG finals was followed by a fluent 3-0 win over Asian giants Pakistan in the summit clash four years later.
The Indian men's team thrilled the home crowd by storming into the finals of the 2010 Delhi CWG. However, they went down by a mammoth 0-8 margin against a marauding Aussie side.
The Men in Blue flattered only to decieve yet again at Glasgow in 2014 where they were cruelly undone by a stunning PC hattrick from ace drag-flicker Chris Ciriello.
The Indian men's hockey team had an utterly forgettable campaign in 2018 but will begin the competition as one of the overwhelming favorites this time around.
Let's take a look at three reasons why Graham Reid's team are serious contenders for a gold medal at Birmingham.
#3 CWG not a precursor to the Asian Games this time around
Preparations for the Asian Games, which also serve as the continental qualifiers for the hockey competition at the Olympics, often take precedence over tournaments that are scheduled ahead of the quadrennial extravaganza.
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So much so that in 2018, not even the elite Champions Trophy was spared from being called a preparatory for the all-important Asian Games tournament that followed.
Hockey India had announced earlier this year that the Men in Blue would, in fact, be sending a second-string side to Birmingham. This was because the main team would be gearing up for the Hangzhou Games.
The postponement of the Asian Games has meant that the Commonwealth Games have a heightened level of significance now. Justifiably enough, the Indian men's team have announced a full-strength side who will be hoping to create history in Birmingham.
#2 Stability in the ranks augurs well for Indian men's hockey ahead of CWG
Change has been constant over the years as far as Indian hockey is concerned with new coaches taking over from the older ones with a frequency that often defied logic.
Sjoerd Marijne took charge of the Indian men's team in late 2017 after Roelant Oltman's departure. The Dutchman was soon replaced by Harendra Singh after the Indians failed to bring home a medal from the Gold Coast CWG.
The move was just another in a series of replacements that had come to become synonymous with the state of Indian hockey before the advent of Graham Reid in early 2019.
Under the Australian's tutelage, the Indian men booked themselves a ticket to Tokyo without breaking into much of a sweat. They went on to create history by winning a bronze medal at the Olympics last year.
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Consistency is now more the norm than the exception. The Indian men's team have shown via their performances in the Pro League that the Olympic bronze was no flash in the pan.
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The Indians lost just four of their 16 FIH Hockey Pro League games last season, finishing third behind Belgium and the Netherlands.
Significantly, Reid's boys had a series of successful away matches in Europe where they got the better of Germany in both legs (3-0 and 3-1) before earning a shoot-out win against World Cup and Olympic champions Belgium.
Although the Indians lost their second encounter against the Red Lions by a 2-3 margin, the manner in which they matched the hosts in every department of the game was commendable.
The Olympic bronze-medallists held eventual champions the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw before going down 1-2 in the second leg. However, they did well enough to ensure a third-place finish in the elite Hockey Pro League.
The Indians had earlier beaten England at the Kalinga Stadium via a shoot-out which was followed by an outright 4-3 win in the second leg which will give Reid's team the edge ahead of their Pool B clash against the home team at CWG.
At Birmingham, the Indians are unlikely to face any major hurdles ahead of the semifinal stages, with Australia, New Zealand and old foes Pakistan drawn in Pool A.
Despite a crushing 1-7 defeat against the Kookaburras at the Tokyo Games, Manpreet Singh and co. are best placed now, as compared to any of the previous editions of the Games, to inflict an upset win over the Aussies.
Eddie Ockenden, Blake Govers, Aran Zalewski and goalkeeper Andrew Charter are part of a star-studded line-up coached by Colin Batch. They will be aiming for glory at Birmingham despite not having played in the Pro League last season.
The Indian men's hockey team very nearly upset Colin Batch's six-time champions in the finals of the 2018 Champions Trophy. They will, perhaps, be the strongest team to stand between the Kookaburras and a seventh straight CWG gold.