Bronze medallists at the Tokyo Olympics, expectations will be high on the Indian men’s hockey team to better their medal colours in Paris. The Paris Olympics start on July 26.
New Delhi: India’s records against the Australians, especially in crunch games have always fallen short. Be it the senior men’s and women’s cricket teams in World Cups or the U-19 side, the story remains the same. The story is similar in men’s hockey too. Be it India’s just one win in eight Hockey World Cup matches or 0-7 hammering at the 2022 Commonwealth Games final, Australia have always been a nemesis to the Men in Blue. For the record, India haven’t won a Test series against the Australians in their own den since 2014. Despite a huge pool of talent, the world-class infrastructure, a much-deserved financial security and top foreign coaches, the Indian men’s team cut a sorry figure when it mattered the most.
But where are we lacking?
It’s the mentality of the players. Not to forget the Men in Blue have beaten the mighty Australians on few occasions in recent past but not consistently despite being one place ahead in the latest FIH Rankings (as of February 2024). While India stand fourth, Australia are placed fifth. Take the recent FIH Pro League games for example. In the first match against Australia at home, India trailed 0-2 inside two minutes. The hosts showed tremendous fight back to lead 4-2 at half time. However, Harmanpreet Singh’s men conceded four in the final two quarters to lose the game.
Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who was a part of the bronze medal-winning Indian team at the Tokyo Olympics, admitted the same. “Australia and Belgium. Baki sab ko to hum hara denge. It’s in our mentality sir kyuki wo log thora physical khelte hae (Australia and Belgium. We are confident of beating the rest of the teams in the group. It’s in our mentality sir, because they (Australia and Belgium) play a bit of physical game),” Sreejesh was heard speaking to legendary Ajit Pal Singh on the sidelines of Hockey India Awards that took place recently in the Capitals.
For the unknown, Sreejesh was referring to India’s Group B opponents at the Paris Olympics. India were placed alongside he likes of Belgium, Australia, Argentina, Ireland and New Zealand. In a fast paced game like hockey, decision-making within a fraction of second plays a very important role. One can’t compare the Indians with Australia because skill-wise they are equally good.
In reality, the Indians do crumble a bit physiologically when they concede a goal, going into a defensive mould. But that’s not the case for the Australians as their never-say-never attitude until the final whistle reflects in their game.
How can India go one step ahead?
According to legendary Ashok Kumar, son of great hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, if the Indian players can control their nerves at crucial junctures, they will go through – be it against Australia or any other superior team. The 1975 Hockey World Cup winner narrated an interview of his father that players of today should learn.
“It was back in 1975 when the first television interview of my father came out in Lucknow. The interviewer asked him, ‘Dada, you are a hockey magician as you can do everything possible with the ball.’ To which he replied, ‘No, it’s totally my mind and nervous system that made me a hockey player in front of the world. The message that my mind sends to the nervous system, I follow that on the field,” recalled Kumar, who scored the winning goal against Pakistan at 1975 World Cup final in Kuala Lumpur.
Kumar opined the boys need to apply this small extra effort at the Paris Olympics to be on top of the podium once again. On the back of a pretty decent home leg at FIH Pro League in February, the Indian team flew to Australia on Monday to play a five-match Test series that starts on April 6. ICYDK, the Indian team haven’t won a Test series against Australia since 2014.
Gear up for Hockey magic Down Under!🏑✨
Here’s the schedule for Indian Men’s Team tour of Australia starting on 6th April.
Don’t miss any of the action; catch all matches live on @JioCinema and @Sports18 (Sports18-3 and Sports18-1 HD).📲#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame… pic.twitter.com/Nrdkn1vK5q
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 3, 2024
Post that the Indian team have a one-week break before they fly again to play the Europe-leg of the FIH Pro League followed by Paris Olympics. The Summer Game start on June 26.