Buoyed by their incredible performance at the Tokyo Olympics, the Indian men’s women’s hockey teams will be aiming to end the Australian dominance in the sport of hockey at this year’s Commonwealth Games.
Australia have been the most successful in hockey since the sport was introduced 24 years ago. The Australian men’s team have won all the six gold medals till now at the event.
However, India, led by Manpreet Singh, do feel like they can end Australia’s stronghold over the sport this time around. The Indian team ended their 41-year wait for a medal in the sport at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and have been constantly improving under head coach, Graham Reid.
The team also finished third in the FIH Pro League and will be looking to go one better than their best performance in 2010 where they won the Silver medal.
Manpreet Singh, who led the Indian team to a historic Bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year, captains the 18-member Indian Men’s Hockey Team for the prestigious Commonwealth Games, which begin on July 29th in Birmingham. https://t.co/TZThrtDhq6
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) June 20, 2022
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Reid and Singh said that they would not be weighed down by the fans’ expectations of a medal. The Indian skipper said that the team will aim to do their best in every single game and their final goal is to secure a podium finish
“Yes, we know that fans have expectations from us that we will win a medal here. We discussed the same before arriving here that if our focus is on winning a medal, we will eventually be victorious in our efforts but we need to work on it first. We want to do our best in every single game, we are not going to take any team lightly and yes our final goal is to win a medal here,” said Singh.
The Indian women’s team will also fancy their chances but will need to put behind their poor outing in the recently-concluded World Cup. India finished ninth at the event and will be looking for an improved performance in Birmingham.
Australia do rule the roost on the women’s side as well when it comes to hockey, as they have won four gold medals. India’s best performance was in 2002, when they finished on the top step of the podium.
Both teams will be banking on their penalty corner specialists and forwards for the goals. The men’s team have a strong lineup when it comes to drag flicks, with vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh leading the line.
PC conversion was an issue for the women’s team at the World Cup and head coach Janeke Schopman will be banking on Gurjit Kaur to be more precise with drag flicks during the CWG.
An 18-member Indian Women’s #Hockey Team has been named for the Commonwealth Games 2022 to be held at Birmingham.# Odisha‘s Deep Grace Ekka has retained her place in the team and has also been named the vice-captain. The team will be led by @savitahockey.
Best wishes pic.twitter.com/0ogS6JdyhK
— Odisha Sports (@sports_odisha) June 23, 2022
Shot stopping will be the strongest card for both teams, with PR Sreejesh and Savita Punia protecting the goal. Punia, in particular, has been in incredible form during the World Cup and will be the captain for the tournament.
The Women’s team will open their campaign on 29th July against Ghana and the men’s team will face the same opponents in their opener on the 31st of July.
With better execution of plans and better conversion of PCs, one can expect both teams to give a strong push for gold and end the Australian dominance at the Commonwealth Games.
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