The Legendary Team Who Ended a 41-Year Wait to Bring India a Medal in Men’s Hockey

“Practice like you’ve never won. Play like you’ve never lost.“

The Indian men’s national field hockey team represents India in international competitions.

Past victories

In 1928, the team won its first Olympic gold and, until 1960, was unbeatable at the Olympic Games, winning 6 consecutive gold medals. This makes the Indian men’s team the most successful hockey team ever in Olympic history. They also hold the record for most Olympic goals in history and best overall performance with 83 victories out of 134 matches played. 

They are three-time Asian Games champion, three-time Asia Cup champion, two-time Commonwealth Games silver medalists, and 1975 World Cup champions. These and many other victories make team India the most successful hockey team in Asia, says Wikipedia. 

The team that scripted history

Meet the team that made a nation of billions proud. 

• Coach – Graham Reid
• Dilpreet Singh – plays as forward for the Indian men’s national hockey team. He’s been part of the squad since 2018.
• Rupinder Pal Singh – plays as fullback and is known as one of the best ‘drag flickers’ in the world. He’s been part of the squad since 2014. He has a phenomenal 115 goals to his name.
• Surender Kumar – plays as defender for the Indian team and has been part of the squad since 2016.
• Manpreet Singh (Captain) – is the captain and plays as halfback for the team. His father is a former hockey player who was his motivation to pursue the sport. He has been part of the squad since 2012 and became captain in 2017.
• Hardik Singh – plays as midfielder. His paternal uncle, grandfather and aunt have all represented India in hockey.
• Gurjant Singh – plays as forward for the team and has been a part of the squad since 2016.
• Simranjeet Singh – aged 24, is a midfielder for the Indian team.
• Mandeep Singh – plays as forward for the national team. He’s been part of the international squad since 2013.
• Harmanpreet Singh – plays as a defender for the team since 2015. He has scored an impressive 74 goals.
• Lalit Upadhyay – plays as forward or midfielder for the team since 2016.
• P.R Sreejesh – is the team goalkeeper and played a vital role in the Tokyo Olympics win. He has been hailed as the prime reason behind the team’s recent success.
• Sumit – plays as the midfielder since 2016.
• Nilakanta Sharma – plays as a midfielder since 2015.
• Shamsher Singh – plays as a forward. Newest addition to the squad.
• Varun Kumar – plays as a defender. Previously dominated the scoreboard in junior championships.
• Birendra Lakra – plays as a defender and is the current team vice captain. His brother and sister have been part of India’s hockey teams.
• Amit Rohidas – plays as a defender since 2016.
• Vivek Prasad – plays as midfielder. He is the youngest player ever to debut for India at age 17 in 2018.

Tokyo Olympics

Since the 1980 Olympics, the team’s performance has gradually declined as they failed to win any international game medals. But since the 2014 Asian Games bronze medal victory, the team has regained its glory and steadily performed better in each competition. 

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Team India won the bronze medal against Germany. This is beyond historic as the team brings home an Olympic medal after a gap of 41 long years. We applaud you all, and a country of 1.4 billion people is immensely proud of your accomplishment. 

#GCPAWishesOlympians

Team Global Child Prodigy Congratulates Team India’s men’s hockey team for winning bronze in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This will inspire millions of people worldwide, including children, to take up the sport and upkeep its rich legacy. 

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