Gold-chasing India will stick to their mantra at Paris Games

'Right now hockey is totally changed and anyone can beat anyone depending on the day. It depends on how many chances you create.'

India broke a 41-year medal drought in Olympic men's hockey with a bronze in Tokyo three years ago, triggering hopes that a ninth gold medal for the once dominant power in the sport might be on the cards in Paris.

The majority of India's titles were won in a different era, when the game was played on grass pitches, often after soccer matches, and neighbours Pakistan were also a medal-winning force.

The age of the fast, flat astroturf has been dominated by three-time champions Germany with the Netherlands, Britain, Australia, Argentina and, most recently in Tokyo, Belgium also topping the podium.

It has been a similar picture at the quadrennial World Cup with Pakistan the dominant force in the early years and Germany clinching their third title in 2023.

In Hardik Singh India have the reigning World Player of the Year, the midfielder claiming the award after his skipper Harmanpreet Singh had taken it home the previous two years.

Harmanpreet, widely regarded as the best drag flicker in the world, said recently that the Tokyo bronze had Indians believing in their hockey team again and his close friend Lalit Kumar Upadhyay said the mission for the team in Paris was clear.

"We are looking forward to changing the colour of our medal from bronze to gold," forward Upadhyay told Reuters.

"Right now hockey is totally changed and anyone can beat anyone depending on the day. It depends on how many chances you create."

The crowded top 10 of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) rankings backs Upadhyay's analysis with the Dutch, England (Britain), Belgium, Australia, Germany and Argentina all bunched ahead of India.

India, who have five debutants and eight Singhs in their 16-man squad, will need to finish in the top four of a pool also featuring reigning champions Belgium, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland to get into the quarter-finals.

"We are working on our fitness and defensive structure because we all have the mantra 'defend for the win'," Upadhyay added.

"India is especially known for our counterattack, so we are looking to defend first. And if you have a good defence then definitely we can definitely have a good attack."

The word hockey derives from the French word hocquet, meaning 'shepherds crook', and the July 27 to August 9 tournaments will take place in Colombes at what was the main stadium for the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Former Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh very well knows that the Paris Games will be his fourth and last Olympics, and wants to give his best one last time at the world's biggest sporting extravaganza.

Manpreet, 32, was captain of the bronze medal-winning team at Tokyo.

"I never thought that I would be able to play four Olympics. It is every player's dream to play in the Olympics and win medals. I consider myself very lucky that this is my fourth Olympics," Manpreet told PTI Bhasha.

"I am going to Paris thinking as if it is my last Olympics and I have to give my best. I haven't thought about quitting the game yet and my complete focus is on the Paris Games," the experienced midfielder, who made his debut for India in 2011 at the age of just 19, said.

But the journey from Mithapur village in Jalandhar to Paris has not been a smooth sailing for Manpreet. He had to fight poverty, false allegations and witness his mother's struggles to make a mark in his career.

After the Tokyo Olympics, Manpreet had to endure the worst phase of his career when former coach Sjoerd Marijne levelled serious allegations against him.

Marijne accused that Manpreet asked a player to underperform so that his friends could get in the team during 2018 Commonwealth Games, an allegation which both the men and women's teams jointly denied, stating that the Dutchman did so to publicise his book.

"That was the most difficult phase for me. I could never even think of such things. I was broken and lost faith in everyone. I told (PR) Sreejesh with whom I share everything. My mother also encouraged me to keep playing to fulfil my father's dream and my whole team supported me," said Manpreet.

"In bad times, the support of the family and team is very important because at that time the player finds himself very lonely. When the team stands together, it gives a lot of encouragement and also helps in making a comeback. We have also seen Hardik Pandya making a great comeback recently."

"When I look back now, it seems like a dream. I come from a humble background where we have seen struggles for the basic needs.

"Father used to work as a carpenter in Dubai but had returned from there due to medical reasons. My mother struggled a lot and both my brothers also played hockey but they left due to financial problems," said Manpreet, who was the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent at Tokyo Olympics along with boxing legend MC Mary Kom.

Manpreet is no longer captain of the side with Harmanpreet Singh taking over the responsibility, but the star mid-fielder knows his role in the team as one of the senior-most member.

"Even if I am not the captain now, it does not make any difference. Every player has his own role in hockey. The effort is to take everyone along. Being a senior, we have to inspire the youngsters," he said.

Manpreet, who idolises Pargat Singh, who too hails from Mithapur, said they followed the same process which they did during Tokyo in terms of preparation for Paris Games.

"Before the Tokyo Olympics, we spent maximum time together due to COVID that resulted in excellent team bonding. We will continue the same because 11 players are the same who were in Tokyo. We are sharing our experiences with the five debutants," he said.

India have been placed in tough pool alongside Australia, Belgium, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland at the Paris Olympics.

"Our pool is tough and we cannot take any team lightly. New Zealand has defeated us in the World Cup and Ireland has recently defeated Belgium. Our focus is on ourselves as to how we can execute our strategy," he said.

"We get less chances against good teams but converting 50-50 chances is the mark of a champion. We are well prepared to do that in Paris."