After a dry 2020, Indian hockey teams aim for Olympic podium in 2021

By Aakash Kumar New Delhi, Dec 25 : The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams had started the year with an aim to finish on the podium at 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games that would end the countrys 40-year medal drought at the worlds biggest sports extravaganza, but the Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to Covid-19.
India last won a hockey gold medal in hockey at 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Since then, the men’s team has participated in eight Olympic Games without making it to the podium. In Rio, the men’s team finished a dismal eighth.
The men’s team, which rose to fourth spot in the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) world rankings this year, maintained that position with 2,063.78 points in the year-end list and would enter 2021 as the fourth-ranked team.
Before the hockey activities came to a halt in March due to Covid-19, the Indian men’s hockey team took part in its maiden FIH Pro League campaign, playing six games against formidable teams like reigning world champions Belgium, Olympic silver medallists the Netherlands, and Australia.
The Indian team had made an emphatic start to their FIH Pro League campaign with a 5-2 and 3-3 (3-1) wins against the Netherlands, followed by a 2-1 win and 3-4 loss against Belgium, and 3-4 loss and 2-2 (3-1) win against Australia, before the Covid-19 pandemic halted the competition.
After that, the players were confined in a bio-secure environment at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) facility in Bengaluru where they carried out their training once the rules were relaxed by the government in August.