Nickname: -

Previous FIH Hockey Pro League placements: 2019: DNP. 2020-21: 4th. 2021-22: 3rd. 2022-23: 4th

Notable honours: 8x Olympic gold medallists (1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1980), Olympic silver medallists (1960), 3x Olympic bronze medallists (1968, 1972, 2021) , FIH Men’s World Cup champions (1975), 4 x Asian Games champions (1966, 1998, 2014, 2022), 2x Asia Cup champions (2003, 2007). 2x Champions Trophy silver medallists (2016, 2018), 3rd Place: Hockey Pro League (2021-22), Hockey World League bronze medallists (2015, 2017).

After years of sliding down the FIH World Rankings which culminated in failure to qualify for the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 – a competition that they had won a record eight times – India are back at the top table of the global game. A bronze medal at the delayed Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was a landmark moment for the team, following it with a third-place finish in the 2021-22 edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League. While a ninth-place finish on home soil at the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 was certainly far below expectations, India bounced back by taking fourth place in the 2022-23 FIH Hockey Pro League season before storming to glory at the recent Asian Games competition in Hangzhou, China, guaranteeing their participation in the Olympic Games Paris 2024. India were 5-1 winners in the competition final against Japan, with team captain Harmanpreet Singh scoring twice. Harmanpreet is very much India’s star man, being a fabulous defender and one of the best drag flickers in the game. However, he is far from being their only exceptional talent, with two-time FIH Hockey Stars Goalkeeper of the Year PR Sreejesh, midfield ace Manpreet Singh and striker Mandeep Singh all capable of game-changing moments.

This season, India will take to the field for FIH Hockey Pro League ‘mini-tournaments’ on home soil in Bhubaneswar (IND) and Rourkela (IND) as well as Antwerp (BEL) and London (ENG).

One to watch: Harmanpreet Singh. India’s drag- flicking defender is a proven match winner who, at Tokyo 2020, played a crucial role in helping his team back onto the Olympic podium after an absence of 41 years. Named FIH Player of the Year both 2021 and 2022, Harmanpreet has also top the FIH Hockey Pro League goal-scoring charts for the past two seasons, netting 18 times in 2021-22 and 16 in 2022-23.