New Delhi: Hockey India President and former captain Dilip Tirkey is confident that the Indian hockey team can win the gold medal in the Paris Olympics 2024.
The team led by Harmanpreet Singh is busy strengthening its preparations. This team has a mix of experienced players and youthful enthusiasm. There are some names for whom this will be the first Olympics, while there are some who have good experience of this great sporting event.
The Indian team has won 12 medals (8 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze) for the country in the Olympics.
Tirkey said at the ‘Glory of Five Rings’ event on Monday, “The team combination looks good. We have a strong defense and strikers who aim to perform at their best. We all know what Sreejesh is capable of and the goalkeeping will be led by him. Harmanpreet Singh’s performance has been excellent in the last few years. So we expect a medal from him and I am sure the color of the medal will be gold. We are going to give tough competition to other teams.”
The Indian men’s hockey team, which ended the medal drought at Tokyo 2020 after a long time, is now eyeing the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The group in which India is, includes many big teams. Therefore, it will be very challenging for India to fulfill this dream.
India has not won gold in these games since the Moscow Olympics in 1980. The countdown to the Paris Olympics has started and the Indian team is confident that it will perform brilliantly.
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, India are placed in Pool B along with defending champions Belgium, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland. To advance to the quarter-finals, the team will have to secure a place in the top four in their pool.
Tirkey said, “The Indian team has reached Paris and will play its first match against New Zealand on July 27. The Indian team is performing quite well ahead of the Olympics. After the World Cup 2023, the team has performed well in the Asian Games and Asian Championships. Coach Craig Fulton is working hard with the team and we hope we will be successful.”
