India aims for golden goal

Under the gaze of men's coach Craig Fulton, India's hockey players run, dribble and sweat buckets at an intense training camp in Bengaluru.

Once the undisputed leader of field hockey, winning a record eight Olympic gold medals, India is targeting a return to its glory days, bolstered by a string of recent successes after decades in the wilderness.

Demanding taskmaster Fulton, a South African, is putting the players through the wringer in the heat and humidity of the southern Indian city, where both the men's and women's national squads are training.

India's men, under Fulton, are targeting victory at the World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium next month, a trophy they last lifted in 1975.

After that, they will travel to Japan to defend their Asian Games gold, which would secure qualification for the 2028 Olympics.

The women's team, coached by Dutch former player Sjoerd Marijne, is looking to improve on the bronze it secured at the last Asian Games.

The players may not be under the same harsh spotlight as the country's cricketers, but the men were no less revered when they won six consecutive hockey gold medals between 1928 and 1956 and two more in 1964 and 1980.

In Los Angeles, India's men will seek to turn back-to-back bronzes from the Tokyo and Paris Games into their first gold for almost half a century.

Men's captain Harmanpreet Singh, 30, believes the foundations are in place for a return to the top step of the Olympic podium after winning bronze in Paris two years ago.

"It was a turning point no doubt," Singh told reporters of the team's second consecutive Olympic bronze. "This was a big achievement for us.

"I believe we are on track. Of course, we have won bronze medals, but we believe we can do better.

"The road to gold won't be easy in the World Cup or the Olympics, but we are in good shape."

Great expectations

Coach Fulton says expectations are high, but can be a burden in a country which has an unrivaled golden history. Germany is the next most successful Olympic hockey nation with four golds.

"Every time India takes the field they're supposed to win and continue that tradition of gold medals, and it's not that easy," Fulton told reporters.

"At the top level, there's really six or seven teams that can beat each other, so there's lots to play for."

India's progress has been built on a core group of players led by Singh, one of the modern game's most feared penalty-corner specialists, and midfielder Hardik Singh.

Confidence in the camp is high after some recent good results, which include two wins over archrival Pakistan, one of them by a crushing 7-1 margin, in the FIH Pro League in London.

India has also enjoyed victories against Germany, the current world champion, and the Netherlands, the reigning Olympic champion.

"Every nation has a time, and I believe India has arrived in the last three to four years," said the 27-year-old Hardik Singh.

"We have done well in big events and our era will be back.

"I think this is one of India's best squads that I have seen in the last few years. There is a hunger to become world champions."

Cricket comparison

India's and Pakistan's players shook hands at the end of their recent matches, a contrast with India's and Pakistan's cricketers at the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

Last year, an attack in Indian Kashmir killed 26 people, with New Delhi blaming the attack on militants backed by Pakistan, a charge that Islamabad denies.

Relations on the cricket pitch have been frosty ever since, but Harmanpreet Singh played down attaching any significance to the hockey handshakes.

"It wasn't planned or anything," he said. "We have always shaken hands whenever we have played against each other.

"Respect is both ways. I feel the result matters most, and we were focusing on that more than on the handshake."

Until the 1980s, packed stadiums regularly greeted India's hockey teams.

But cricket's growth, along with the emergence of the Indian Premier League, has transformed the country's sporting landscape.

Women's captain Salima Tete believes that recent successes can help hockey regain some of its lost ground.

"Everyone knows about the cricketers, but hockey is slowly getting back its due recognition, and it serves as a motivation," she said.

"There is no comparison, but we would like to make a mark with our performances, and to play freely and with pride as Indian national players."