The Indian hockey groups proceeded with their vertical pattern in 2022, with the women’s side somewhat beating their male partners by securing a Commonwealth Games medal — a bronze following 16 years.
The Indian women’s and men’s teams each won their third CWG medal in Birmingham.
After 16 long years, the women achieved a podium finish while the men’s team took home silver. In 2002, the Indian women won gold at the Manchester CWG and silver four years later at Melbourne.
The Indian women’s group defeated 2018 Gold Coast CWG support New Zealand 2-1 in the penalty shootout to guarantee the platform finish.
The women proved that the CWG bronze wasn’t a fluke toward the end of the year by defeating Spain 1-0 to win the first FIH Nations Cup in Valencia and qualify for the 2023-2024 FIH Pro League. This accomplishment continued the women’s upward trajectory under Dutch coach Janneke Schopman.
By remaining unbeaten in the Nations Cup and putting on fantastic performances to reclaim their Pro League spot, the women demonstrated that they are no longer weaklings in the world of hockey.
The women had completed a creditable third in their debut Pro League season in 2021-22 yet neglected to fit the bill for the 2022-23 season.
The women’s team started the year off well by finishing third in the Asia Cup and defeating China 2-0 in the bronze-medal match.
However, after losing to England 0-2 in the bronze-medal match in Potchefstroom, South Africa, in April, the Indians missed out on a medal at the Junior World Cup by a whisker.
India’s women endured a forgettable World Cup in Spain and Netherlands, finishing ninth with one win, three draws, and two losses, adding insult to injury. However, they fought their way back to the podium in Birmingham a month later in style.
In 2022, the men also achieved success, the most notable of which was the silver medal in Birmingham. However, Australia’s 0-7 defeat in the CWG final would still be the team’s primary source of frustration.
The Kookaburras bamboozled Graham Reid’s men in every aspect of the game, making for a terrifying excursion.
However, the Indian men also had some success. They won the inaugural FIH Hockey 5s tournament in Lausanne, defeating Poland 6-4 in the final, after starting the year in Jakarta with a third-place finish at the Asia Cup.
India also won the 10th Sultan of Johor Cup, an international tournament for men under 21, beating Australia 4-5 on penalties after the two teams tied 1-1 at the end of regulation time.
At the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India participated in three Pro League matches—two against New Zealand and one against Spain. India defeated New Zealand 4-3 and 7-4, but Spain defeated them 2-3.
The men’s team traveled to Australia toward the end of the year for a five-match series in which it competed with the world’s top team in all aspects of the game.
Despite losing the high-scoring series 1-4, the Indians demonstrated that they have progressed significantly since the CWG final defeat and will be a force to be reckoned with in the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29 next year.
CHANGE OF GUARD
In addition, the national federation underwent a change of guard during the year, with former skipper Dilip Tirkey becoming president of Hockey India and Hockey Jharkhand’s Bhola Nath Singh becoming secretary.
Be that as it may, it was not going great concerning the organization of the game in the country. Hockey India was put under a three-part Board of Executives (CoA) by the Delhi High Court subsequent to seeing that the league had disregarded the Public Games Code.
The court’s decision was based on a petition filed by Aslam Sher Khan, a former India player who had challenged the appointment of Narinder Batra, president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), as a life member of Hockey India.
The national body had been threatened at one point by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to hold elections and get the house in order or else it would “jeopardize” the men’s World Cup.
However, India was saved from significant embarrassment thanks to the CoA, sports ministry, and FIH working together
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