Indian Hockey has come a long way and we need to accept that despite whatever result it may be panned out for both men’s and women’s hockey teams in the semifinal of Tokyo 2020 there is no denying the fact that the kind of performance that Men and Women in Blue have portrayed in this Olympics 2020 it seems that the golden days of Hockey has returned to the fore.
India has a rich history in Hockey especially in Men’s Hockey as they are one of the most successful teams in the history of the Olympics as they are the only team to win 8 gold medals in one of the biggest sporting event of the world. They last won the gold medal in 1980 Moscow Olympics under the leadership of V Bhaskaran and forward strikers like Mohammad Shahid and Zafar Iaqbal.
Mohammad Shahid after Dhyanchand is the best player who has played hockey for India to date but these young guns in Tokyo If they can win the semifinal against their respective opponents they will inspire a lot of young boys and girls to pick up this beautiful game of Hockey.
Look what PV Sindhu has done for badminton she might not have won a Gold medal in Tokyo 2020 but winning two consecutive medals at a bigger stage like the Olympics will certainly inspire a lot of young girls in India to pick up this beautiful sport of badminton as Sindhu still has age by her side and she can compete in next Tokyo 2024 and win Gold medal over there who knows but let’s comeback to Hockey again.
India failed to adopt the norms of astroturf in mid 80 s and 90s and failed to capitalize among other powerhouses of Hockey like the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Australia but they are peaking at the right time now and the credit should be given where it is due Coach Graham Reid who is coaching Men in Blue is himself a part of that Australian team who has won the medal in the past and the Sjord Marjine who hails from the Netherlands and currently coaching women’s hockey team has coached Netherlands side for close to five years.
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