BENGALURU: The script for the Indian men’s hockey at the Commonwealth Games hasn’t panned out the way they would have wished for. Since the introduction of the sport at the quadrennial event in 1998, Australia have won gold on all six occasions. India came close twice – in 2010 and 2014 – before being outplayed by the team from Down Under.
This edition of the event beginning in Birmingham on Friday was not on the priority list until the Asian Games were postponed by a year. With a full squad and an eye on bettering their performance in the competition, Manpreet Singh and Co landed in Birmingham earlier this week.
Having lost to England 1-2 in the bronze medal playoff and returned empty-handed in 2018, India are keen to make amends.
India’s history at the Commonwealth Games
On the lessons learnt from the Gold Coast debacle four years ago, skipper Manpreet said, “In the last CWG, things didn’t go our way. We underestimated a few teams like Wales in the group stage. In this edition we want to win a medal. We won’t underestimate any team. In every match we will focus on our game plan and give our best.”
India, ranked fifth in the world, are in Pool B alongside Ghana, England, Canada and Wales.
Manpreet, who will feature in his landmark 300th match in India colours when the team takes on Ghana in its tournament opener on Sunday, stressed that the team had dealt with the weight of expectations as CWG will be the team’s first major outing after the bronze-winning performance at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
Chief coach Graham Reid broke down the pressure factor and explained, “I don’t think anybody’s expectations from us are more than what we have from ourselves. We have high expectations of what we want from ourselves as a team and individually and that keeps up the pressure on us in a good way.”
On the external pressure, the Australian added, “When it comes to hockey, people talk about medals every time India goes to an event of any description. We can’t do much about external pressure.”
If India get past the league stage, stern challenges await them but none bigger than Australia.
In the 128 matches the two teams have played against each other, Australia have won 85 while India have topped in 22 contests with 21 matches ending in a draw.
Apart from skill, one of the key elements to get past Australia, according to Reid, will be India’s mindset. “One thing that we would never do is take Australia lightly. Everyone puts Australia on a pedestal and rightly so since they have won a lot over the years. But to be able to beat them, we need to change our mindset and understand that we are also good and can compete at the highest level,” Reid pointed out.
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