The Indian men’s hockey team is determined to change the colour of their medal in this year’s Paris Olympics that is set to take place exactly 100 days from now, skipper Harmanpreet Singh said on Wednesday.
The ace dragflicker added that with a little over three months left for the Olympics, every single single day and every single drill will count towards building momentum to shine at the biggest sporting event in the world. India had won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and are keen on going a step further and claim gold in the French capital this year.
The star drag-flicker’s comments came following India’s dismal show in the recent tour of Australia, where they were whitewashed 0-5 by the hosts.
“We just returned from the intense Australia tour. After a short break, we will hit the grind again. With only 100 days to go until the Paris Olympics, the excitement in the team is growing,” Harmanpreet said in a Hockey India release.
“The unity of our team continues to grow, fuelled by our shared goal to clinch the gold medal. Craig Fulton, our chief coach, keeps us on track with the Olympics countdown in our weekly schedule.
“Every day counts, every practice, every drill — it’s all about building towards that moment on the Olympic stage. All in all, we’re hungry, we’re focused, and we’re ready to shine,” he added.
Counting down the days until the world unites in Paris for the Olympics 2024.🏑
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 17, 2024
Only 1⃣0⃣0⃣ Days to go🇮🇳#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #Paris2024
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.@CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @Limca_Official @CocaCola_Ind @FIH_Hockey pic.twitter.com/oQiUUvk1eB
India qualified for the Paris Olympics by winning gold medal in last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games.
India vice-captain Hardik Singh said the need of the hour is to iron out the grey areas before the Paris Games.
“The Australia Tests highlighted the areas that we need to improve, and upon our return to camp, we aim to make sure that we iron out any remaining issues well in time for the Paris 2024 Olympics,” he said.
“We will give our best on each of the 100 remaining days to make sure that our pursuit for the gold medal at the Olympics is successful,” he added.
In Paris Olympics, India are clubbed alongside defending champions Belgium, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland in Pool B.
India will play their opener against New Zealand on 27 July.
With PTI inputs
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