Indian men’s hockey team
Having ended their four-decade-long Olympics medal drought at Tokyo, the Indian men’s hockey team will be gunning to finish on the podium once again. This, despite being slotted alongside the likes of Australia, Argentina and Belgium in its group. Since the Tokyo 2020 bronze medal, India have won a silver at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and finished top at the Asiad and the Asian Champions Trophy. Adding a 13th medal to the field hockey tally — India’s most from one event at the Olympics — is a realistic possibility with the presence of veterans such as PR Sreejesh, who is playing his final tournament for India, and still holds the key to India’s success on the big stage.
Only the second Indian athlete to win an individual gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games, Neeraj Chopra is India’s strongest contender going into Paris 2024. Despite having participated at only three competitions in the leadup to the Olympics this year, Neeraj is a firm contender given his consistency to shine at the big stage. His gold at Tokyo 2020 — before which he had already claimed the yellow medal at the Commonwealth and Asian Games — has been followed by a gold and a silver at World Championships, a gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year and many other accolades at events like the Diamond League.
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