"Tough pools do not deter those in quest of gold" - Lalit Upadhyay keen to usher in glory days for Indian hockey at 2024 Paris Olympics
Over the last six years, Lalit Upadhyay has emerged as the mainstay of an Indian forward line that is renowned for its pace, skill and firepower. Overcoming the tragedy of becoming the unfortunate victim of a sting operation early in his career, Lalit displayed exemplary courage and conviction to return to the Indian side before cementing his place as a regular forward.
Part of the bronze-medal-winning Indian team at the Tokyo Olympics, the striker from Benaras told Sportskeeda during an exclusive interaction that nothing less than gold would suffice for Craig Fulton's chargers in Paris.
"It would be foolish to say we are in search of a gold medal but want an easy match or two to help us get through the pool. At the Olympic Games, there are no easy matches. Tough pools do not deter those in quest of gold," Lalit Upadhyay declared.
The Indians find themselves in what appears to be a difficult pool featuring mighty Australia who won the recent FIH Pro League alongside defending champions Belgium, Argentina, New Zealand, and Ireland.
Giant-killers New Zealand had upset India at last year's FIH World Cup while Ireland stunned the Belgian Red Lions twice in the 2023-24 season of the Hockey Pro League.
The Indians can therefore be assured that there would not be a single group match in Paris where they can expect to come away with an easy win.
Undeterred by the formidable Olympic teams that comprise Group B, Lalit Upadhyay emphasized unhesitatingly that if the team wanted to go all the way, they had to be better than the rest.
"If we consider ourselves as medal contenders for Paris, there is absolutely no way tough teams in the pool can put us off. If we want to win gold, we have to be better than all the teams in contention at the Games," he pointed out.
Lalit did, however, stress that the team will need to get better as the tournament progresses and exploit the weakness of the opposition.
"Irrespective of whether a team is ranked higher or lower than us, we have to stick to our pattern of play and exploit the weakness of our opponents. Also, we need to get better with each match throughout the course of the tournament," he explained.
Lalit Upadhyay revealed that he was grateful to have returned to the side as a regular striker following the sting operation incident that nearly jeopardized his career but is far from satisfied.
True satisfaction, according to the immensely talented forward would be forthcoming only when the glory days of old would return for Indian hockey.
"I fervently wish that what happened with me does not happen ever with any other player. I was young and full of dreams then but managed to find a way back thanks to family and close friends who stood by," Lalit Upadhyay recalled.
"I am happy that I am back in the team but I am not satisfied. As an athlete, I would be satisfied when we win gold, when the glory days of old return for Indian hockey. I will continue to strive to achieve the same as long as I play. Even after that, I will continue to serve hockey in some capacity," he disclosed.
"A lot of today's international matches are decided via PC conversions" - Lalit Upadhyay
The Indians scored a total of 38 goals during the recently concluded FIH Men's Pro League with 14 coming off penalty corners while 20 resulted from open play.
Lalit Upadhyay asserted that with a world-class drag-flacker like Harmanpreet Singh in the ranks, it was only natural that the team should look to earn as many short corners as possible.
The 30-year-old stressed that although Harmanpreet Singh wasn't at his absolute best during the 2023 World Cup, two 18-goal hauls in previous editions of the Pro League were a testament to his enormous talent.
"If we know we have one of the best drag-flickers in the world in the form of Harmanpreet Singh, why should we not utilize the same to our advantage by earning as many PCs as we can?," Lalit Upadhyay indicated.
"A lot of today’s international matches are decided via PC conversions. The World Cup was a one-off where Harmanpreet had a not-so-good outing and that happens from time to time. He has twice been the highest scorer in the Pro League having scored 18 goals (2021-22 and 2022-23) and that shows how good he is," he stated.
The seasoned forward was quick to dispel notions that the team was overly dependent on penalty corners, pointing out that all the strikers had got on to the scoresheet at the recent Pro League.
"We have scored a lot of field goals as well in the Pro League. We always look to score from open play. When field goals do not come by easily, we then look to score from penalty corners," Lalit Upadhyay said.
"A team that has the ability to score field goals and also has a great drag-flicker will always excel and exert a lot of pressure on opponents," he added.
India begin their Olympic campaign against the New Zealand Black Sticks on July 27. Strikers Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Abhishek, and Sukhjeet Singh will be alongside Lalit in Paris as the eight-time Olympic champions look to breach the opposition defense in style.