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A look at how the Indian hockey teams fared during the year 2024, in which the men’s team capture a second consecutive Olympic medal.
India won a second consecutive Olympic medal. (Reuters Photo)
2024 was a year of ecstasy, heartbreak and hope for Indian hockey. Under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Singh, the men’s team won a successive medal at the Olympics which was also the final time when one of the country’s iconic hockey stars PR Sreejesh worked his magic before walking into the sunset. On the other hand, the women’s team endured a dismal start as they agonisingly missed the cut for the Paris Olympics 2024 before ending the year on a high with a title-winning show at the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy. The revival of a competition – Hockey India League – which is expected to give wings to their dreams of recapturing the glory days when they were the undisputed superpower in the world of hockey was another highlight of the year.
Here’s a look at how the year panned out for Indian hockey
FIH Olympic Qualifiers Ranchi
The tournament was Indian women team’s final chance to seal Olympic berth after they made a semi-final exit at the 2023 Asian Games, the winner of which was handed a ticket for the Summer Games in Paris. Their dreams were shattered after losing to Japan in the bronze medal match which resulted in their head coach Janneke Schopman tendering her resignation soon after.
South Africa Tour
The men’s team, as part of their preparations for the Paris Games, played five matches in South Africa in January. They won two matches (against France and South Africa), lost once (against Netherlands) and drew a game against France before returning home.
Hockey 5s World Cup
The Indian men’s and women’s teams took part in the inaugural Hockey 5s world cup held in Muscat (Oman). While the men’s team finished fifth after beating Egypt 6-4. The women’s team though had a superb tournament as they made it to the title clash from Pool C before being bested by the Netherlands in the final.
HI’s Long-Serving CEO Calls It Quits, Alleging Rift
There was controversy over the surprise resignation of Hockey India’s CEO Elena Norman who thus brought an end to her 13-year association. She claimed that it became difficult for her to continue citing “two factions in HI” which created unnecessary pressure and hampered her work. As per reports, she wasn’t paid her salary which was only released after the Australian sent a legal notice. HI President Dilip Tirkey and Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh denied the allegations of a rift in the governing body by releasing a joint statement.
The Australian Setback
The tour Down Under came as a timely reality check for India in April, nearly three months before the team was to take the flight to Paris. The mighty Australian team hosted India for a five-match Test series and stormed to a 5-0 clean sweep. The performance laid bare the team’s weak attacking prowess and failure to score field goals. Head coach Craig Fulton’s philosophy of ‘defend to win’ came under scrutiny following the series of humbling defeat.
The Paris High
In Tokyo, where India wasn’t a medal contender, they surprised everyone by ending their 41-year-old wait by clinching bronze. They entered Paris as one of the favourites. The start was a bit tentative. They left it late against the 10th-ranked New Zealand to eke out a hard-fought 3-2 win from a goal down. Former champions Argentina then held them to a 1-1 draw before suffering a narrow 1-2 defeat to the then defending champions Belgium. A massive win over Australia followed which made them title favourite.
In the quarterfinal, India were reduced to 10 men for the majority of the contest against Great Britain after Amit Rohidas was given a red card. Captain Harmanpreet Singh’s men defended resolutely to force a penalty shootout where they prevailed. A thrilling semifinal followed which they lost to Germany 2-3. In the bronze medal match, India defeated Spain to win a second successive Olympic medal.
Asian Champions Trophy (Men)
Nearly a month after triumphant return from Paris, the Indians took part in the continental tournament held in China. They went on to win a record-extending fifth title after dominating the league stage which included a 2-1 win over arch-rivals Pakistan. They brushed aside South Korea 4-1 in the semis and had to dig deep to beat China 1-0 and defend their crown.
India hosted Germany for a two-match Test series in October which ended one-all.
Asian Champions Trophy (Women)
2024 began on a dismal note for the women’s team but it ended on a high after they stormed to a third title win at the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy held in Bihar. The Salima Tete-led India won all their matches of the competition as they beat Malaysia (4-0), South Korea (3-2), Thailand (13-0), China (3-0) and Japan (3-0) to qualify for the semis. They got the better of Japan again, this time 2-0 before besting China 1-0 to become the champions.
Two Legends Bid Goodbyes
Sreejesh ended his playing career with a second Olympic medal to his name. One of India’s greatest hockey stars, Sreejesh expertly guarded India’s goalpost for nearly 18 years as if his life dependent on it. He retired with two Olympic bronze medals, two Asian Games gold medals, an Asian Games bronze medal, two Commonwealth Games silver medals, and four titles at the Asian Champions Trophy.
In October, another Indian legend – Rani Rampal – called time on her career. Having made her debut at 14, Rani represented the Indian women’s team in 254 matches and scored 120 goals. The forward left an indelible impression on women’s hockey in the country and was instrumental in their development. She retires with two Asian Games medals (silver, bronze), three medals at the Asia Cup (gold, silver, bronze), an Asian Champions Trophy title and a gold medal from the South Asian Games.
HIL Returns
After a gap of seven years, Hockey India League, a franchise tournament is back for its second innings, hopeful of a longer and sustainable existence. It will be the sixth season of the tourney which aims to unearth talent from different parts of the country and giving them a chance to rub shoulders with world-class players from India and around the world. The men’s tournament features eight teams and the inaugural women’s competition will have four teams. There’s no home-and-away format this time around due to logistical issues and to keep tab on the expenditure.
