Paris 2024 Olympics: 3 teams who could challenge India in hockey
The Indian men's hockey team had the opportunity to square off with many of the sides they will be encountering at the 2024 Paris Olympics thanks to the FIH Pro League.
While the Pro League served as a vital preparatory ahead of the all-important Olympic event, several teams including the Indians themselves sought to experiment with their strategies and try out new combinations.
The Indian men drew twice with mighty Netherlands who ended the Pro League in second spot behind Australia. Craig Fulton's team beat a depleted German side 3-0 in their first match before losing the second 2-3.
India lost twice to Great Britain in London with the scoreline reading 3-1 and 3-2 in favour of the home side but at the Olympics, the eight-time champions can expect to be challenged the most by teams in their own group.
Let's take a look at the three sides that have the potential to trouble the Indian men's hockey team the most at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
#3 New Zealand - The Black Sticks have a penchant for beating India on the big stage
The New Zealand Black Sticks have proven to be a thorn in the flesh for the Indians in recent and remote history.
A 2-3 defeat to New Zealand in the semifinals of the 2018 Commonwealth Games resulted in an upheaval in the Indian men's team with Harendra Singh replacing Sjoerd Marijne as coach.
In what proved to be an uncanny repeat, Graham Reid, who had guided the Indians to a bronze-medal-winning finish at the Tokyo Olympics chose to step down after his team went down to New Zealand in the FIH World Cup last year.
The ability of the New Zealand men's team to upset the Indians on the big stage can therefore never be doubted.
Coach Craig Fulton told Sportskeeda in an earlier interview that despite the best efforts of the team management, matches against New Zealand could not be arranged for the Indians ahead of their Olympic campaign.
Greg Nicol's team won the 2023-24 edition of the FIH Nations Cup while being unbeaten throughout the tournament and boasts of experienced campaigners like Hugo Inglis, Blair Tarrant, Kane Russell and the redoubtable Simon Child.
Incidentally, the Indians took on New Zealand in the opening game at Tokyo 2021 as well, managing to prevail with a 3-2 margin courtesy of a short corner brace from Harmanpreet Singh and a penalty stroke converted by Rupinder Pal Singh.
Earning full points in their opening encounter against New Zealand would indeed be a job well done for Fulton's chargers.
#2 Belgium - The Red Lions who halted India's hockey march in Rio and Tokyo
The Indian men's hockey team who appeared to be on the verge of a major resurrection advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics only to go down to Belgium.
The Belgians who trailed at one point during the semifinals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics dashed Indian hopes by cruising to a 5-2 win.
India's record against Belgium in the Olympics is not about history alone.
Astoundingly enough, Rio veterans like John-John Dohmen, Arthur van Doren, Gauthier Boccard, Loick Luypaert, Tom Boon, Florent van Aubel, Felix Denayer, and goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch have made it to Paris 2024 as well.
The Indians failed to claim an outright win over the Red Lions in the Pro League, despite Michel van den Heuvel's side not being at their best during the tournament.
Expect the Belgians to come hard at India during their Pool B game of the men's hockey competition at Paris 2024.
#1 Australia - The mighty Kookaburras have a dominant record against India
Australia, one of the most dominant sides in world hockey, have surprisingly managed to win just a single Olympic gold. Even so, the Kookaburras have been ruthless when playing against India on the big stage.
An 8-0 win against India in the final of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games was followed by a 4-0 victory in the finals of the same competition in Glasgow four years later.
The only blemish during India's historic bronze-medal win in Tokyo in 2021 was a shocking 1-7 loss to Australia during the group stage.
When India played the Aussies during the Pro League, Craig Fulton's side was actually ranked higher than the Kookaburras who had slipped to the seventh position following a disappointing 2023 FIH World Cup.
Now that the tournament has ended, the Indians are in seventh place with Australia moving up to the fourth slot as per the FIH rankings having won the Pro League competition. Colin Batch's team registered twice as many wins (10) as compared to the Indians (5) from 16 games in the League.
The Indians failed to get past Australia in the nine-team event going down 4-6 in a thriller before managing to hold the Kookaburras to a 2-2 draw in the second-leg game.
The Men in Blue will be hoping to assure themselves of a quarterfinal place before taking on the mighty Aussies in their last pool game of the men's hockey event at Paris 2024.