FIH Men's Champions Trophy 2016: India aiming for creating history

Since the start of Champions Trophy way back in 1980 India have never won the Hockey Champions Trophy. India's best finish at a Champions Trophy has been a bronze medal way back in the 1982 edition, and if they manage to even repeat that and not do better, it will be considered a major stepping stone going into the Rio Olympics later in August.

In the recent years the eight time Olympic champions have show some promising signs of a return to the glory days of old.

a ninth place finish at the 2014 Rabobank Hockey World Cup, the team produced a string of high quality performances to claim the silver medal behind World Champions Australia at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. That success was a sign of even greater things to come, with India storming to glory at the 2014 Asian Games to seal their place at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games by defeating eternal rivals Pakistan in the competition final before landing a fourth place finish at the end-of-year Hero Hockey Champions Trophy on home soil in Bhubaneswar. 2015 saw even greater improvement, securing a fourth place finish at the FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Final in Antwerp, Belgium, early in July before securing the bronze medal at the end-of-year Hero Hockey World League Final event in Raipur, India.

The team coached by legendary Dutch tactician Roelant Oltmans – who guided the Netherlands men to Olympic and World Cup glory in 1996 and 1998 respectively – has made a promising start to 2016, with the side claiming the silver medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia. Defender Harmanpreet Singh, one of the outstanding performers at the Sultan Azlan Shah event, finds himself retained in the squad, as areyoungsters Harjeet Singh and 21-year-old goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya. Gifted goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh and drag-flicking defender VR Raghunath, both rested for the event in Malaysia, have returned to the squad and will provide a strong backbone to an impressive looking Indian squad. Sreejesh has been named captain of the team in the absence of brilliant midfielder Sardar Singh, who has been rested for this event. S.V. Sunil and Akashdeep Singh are two star performers in the forward line who are both capable of making a big impact in any game.

Will they win their first ever Hockey Champions Trophy in London? They are certainly in with a good chance!

But in defending champions Germany and No. 1-ranked Australia, India and the other three teams in the fray (Belgium, Great Britain and South Korea) face two serious title-contenders in London.

An unprecedented second champions trophy medal for the PR Sreejesh-led Indian team, thus, will require pulling out all stops.

"We are getting back-to-back matches in London and Spain, and that's how the schedule will be like in Rio Olympics also," Sreejesh said before the team's departure.

After the Champions Trophy in London, India will travel straight to Spain for a six-nation tournament.

"This will be a mental test for us as we play world's top four teams in London we play the five teams we will face in Rio at the Six Nations Tournament. It will come down to how we succeed in executing the plans we have been working on at the training camp," Sreejesh, who replaces the rested Sardar Singh as captain, added.

India and Germany will open the 2016 Champions Trophy, which will be the last since 1980 as the FIH has decided to replace the tournament with another global league.

Here's all you want to know:

DATES: June 10-17, 2016

VENUE: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, Great Britain

TEAMS: Six

FIH RANKINGS:
Australia (1), Belgium (5), Germany (3), Great Britain (4), India (7), South Korea (9)

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS: Germany

FORMAT: Round-Robin. Each team plays the other once. The top two at the end of the league stage play the final and next best two (No. 3 and 4) play for the bronze medal.

FIXTURES (IST)

June 10

20:30 - GER vs IND

22:30 - BEL vs KOR

00:30 - GBR vs AUS

June 11

18:30 - GER vs BEL

20:30 - IND vs GBR

22:30 - AUS vs KOR

June 12 (Rest Day)

June 13

16:30 - KOR vs GBR

18:30 - GER vs AUS

20:30 - BEL vs IND

June 14

20:30 - IND vs KOR

22:30 - AUS vs BEL

00:30 - GBR vs GER

June 15 (Rest Day)

June 16

20:30 - AUS vs IND

22:30 - KOR vs GER

00:30 - GBR vs BEL

June 17

20:15 - 5th-6th Place

22:30 - 4th Place (Bronze)

00:45 - 2nd Place (Gold)

Coach comment – Roelant Oltmans:
“It is important that we approach the tournament not just with a view to winning it, but also to execute our tactics well, and learn from past mistakes and keep evolving. This will ensure that as a team we are prime placed when we reach Rio, physically, mentally and tactically.”

Player perspective – Manpreet Singh (midfielder):
“We don’t feel scared to take on big teams anymore. We don’t think ourselves as underdogs anymore. In fact, we will go with the confidence that we are as good as any other team if not better.”

One to watch: P.R. Sreejesh.
One of the most athletic goalkeepers in the game, 28-year-old Sreejesh is a sensational shot-stopper and a hugely respected figure within the Indian team. Sreejesh looks set to make his 150th international appearance in London.

FACTS

Current FIH World Ranking: 7

Notable honours:
8x Olympic gold medallists (1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1980), Olympic silver medallists (1960), 2x Olympic bronze medallists (1968, 1972), World champions (1975), 3x Asian Games champions (1966, 1998, 2014), 2x Asia Cup champions (2003, 2007). Hockey World League bronze medallists (2015)

Rank in previous CT editions:
2014 – 4th, 2012 – 4th, 2005 – 6th, 2004 – 4th, 2003 – 4th, 2002 – 4th, 1996 – 4th, 1995 – 5th, 1989 – 6th, 1986 – 5th, 1985 – 6th, 1983 – 4th, 1982 – 3rd, 1980 – 5th