"Expecting A Lot From Captain Harmanpreet Singh: Hockey India Chief Diliip Tirkey Ahead Of Paris Olympics

23.07.2024 - 12:00 sports.ndtv.com

Former captain and Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey has high hopes from skipper Harmanpreet Singh at the Paris Olympics, saying if the star drag-flicker is on song there is no reason why the country cannot change the colour of the medal at the quadrennial showpiece event.

India had defeated Germany to clinch the bronze medal after 41 years at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Expectations are high from the Harmanpreet-led side to better its performance at the Paris Games, starting July 26. "I have full faith in (goalkeeper PR) Sreejesh and in all the young players in the team.

Five players are going to make their debut at the Olympics but they too have good experience of international hockey. "We are expecting a lot from captain Harmanpreet, he is a world-class drag-flicker.

If he gets going there in nothing to worry," Tirkey said on the sidelines of an event 'Glory of Five Rings', organised by Manav Rachna Educational Institutions, where the likes of former women's hockey skipper Rani Rampal and ex-world champion trap shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu, among others were also present. "...everything falls upon the drag-flickers who will have to be at their best.

Olympics 2024 Paris Olympics Harmanpreet Singh Paris Games Germany Netherlands Switzerland South Africa India

Hockey's emotional connection with India and its sports lovers is such that it would not be off the mark to call it the 'most beloved sport' in the country. For years, India's dominance in hockey at the global level saw millions getting hooked on it. Then, there came a lean period, a dark phase when all seemed lost. A team that had once won eight gold medals at the Olympics, could not even qualify for the quadrennial extravaganza in the 2008 edition. But Indian hockey is past that phase, and the Paris Olympics 2024 was a strong example of it.

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