India’s bronze in Paris: a campaign built on nerve, corners, and a fitting farewell

Thirteen Olympic hockey medals. That’s the number India carried out of Paris 2024, with a bronze that felt like a statement. No frenzy, no fluke—just a team that understood pressure, trusted its drag-flicks, and leaned on a goalkeeper who played like time owed him one last moment. For PR Sreejesh, this was a farewell on the loudest stage. For captain Harmanpreet Singh, it was proof that his stick is as much leadership as it is firepower.

India opened their campaign on July 27 at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in Colombes, a venue that once hosted Olympic legends and now watched a new-era side balance grit with structure. The men in blue were drawn in Pool B with Belgium, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and Ireland—three top-6 opponents in one group. That’s as tough as it gets at an Olympics, where 12 teams split into two pools and only four from each make the knockouts.

The schedule set the rhythm and demanded consistency from the first whistle. Here’s how it was laid out (all times ET):

• July 27, 11:30 a.m.: India vs New Zealand
• July 29, 6:45 a.m.: India vs Argentina
• July 30, 7:15 a.m.: India vs Ireland
• August 1: India vs Belgium
• August 2: India vs Australia

Craig Fulton’s side played the long game—compact without the ball, clinical at set pieces, and opportunistic in transition. Harmanpreet finished the tournament with 10 goals, most of them from penalty corners that were earned through hard yards by the forward line and midfielders who kept forcing turnovers. The other constant was Sreejesh, whose late saves in tight phases kept India on the right side of momentum.

After negotiating Pool B, the quarterfinal against Great Britain went to a penalty shootout. That’s when India’s experience showed. The routine looked familiar: calm walk-ups, a few deft moves from the takers, and a keeper who read bodies better than sticks. Sreejesh shut down angles, and India punched their ticket to the last four.

The semifinal versus Germany turned into a grind—physical duels, set-piece chess, not much space. India couldn’t find the decisive breakthrough and were forced into the bronze playoff. That’s a mental test as much as a tactical one. The response the team produced two days later said plenty. They defended narrow lanes, picked moments to press, and moved the ball quicker through the inside channels. The bronze match swung on discipline at the back and cold-blooded execution up front.

Harmanpreet’s leadership mattered, but so did the buy-in from the rest—defenders staying tidy around the circle, midfielders winning second balls, forwards tracking back without complaint. It wasn’t flashy, it was effective. Under Fulton, India have leaned into a defense-first identity that doesn’t dull their attacking threat; it organizes it. Paris showed that balance: fewer chaotic turnovers, smarter fouls, and better game management in the last five minutes.

A word on Sreejesh, because it’s impossible to tell this story without him. He came into Paris for one last dance and left having changed the tempo when the music got frantic. Tournament hockey is built on moments; he owned the biggest ones. That consistency over a decade is why this medal will always have his fingerprints on it, even as the gloves come off.

A legacy extended: from six straight golds to back-to-back medals

History hangs differently on Indian hockey than on most sports in the country. Between 1928 and 1956, the men won six consecutive Olympic golds. The mythology from that era still pulls at every new generation. Then came decades of searching—systems changed, styles shifted, results stuttered. Tokyo 2020 broke a 41-year medal drought with bronze. Paris 2024 confirmed that wasn’t a one-off; it was a reset.

With this medal, India’s Olympic hockey tally stands at 13: eight golds, one silver, and four bronzes. Paris was also India’s 22nd appearance in the men’s Olympic hockey tournament. Numbers aside, the bigger takeaway is continuity. The core has matured together, the penalty corner battery is reliable, and the defensive structure rarely loses shape. That’s how you win tight games in August heat on a fast European pitch.

There’s also the pipeline effect. A stronger domestic program, tougher overseas tours, and the churn of the global calendar have created a team that’s less about one star and more about repeatable roles. Harmanpreet’s drag-flick is the headline, but it’s earned by the rest—by forwards who recycle possession, by midfielders who draw fouls in the right zones, and by defenders who trust each other to step out at the right time.

Fans at home didn’t miss a beat. In India, every match streamed on JioCinema, with live telecasts on Sports18 channels. That kind of access matters. It creates appointments, it makes habits, and it puts faces to the names kids hear in school. The more people see this team win in different ways—holding on, coming back, shutting doors—the more the sport grows past nostalgia into a living, weekly story.

Paris also sharpened the checklist for what comes next. Sharpen field-goal conversions to complement penalty corners. Trim cards when the game gets stretched. Keep building depth so the press stays energetic into the fourth quarter. These aren’t big overhauls; they’re margins. And margins decide medals.

Call it a bronze if you like. The team will call it a standard. For a country that wrote the early chapters of Olympic hockey, back-to-back podiums move the conversation from “remember when” to “what’s next.” That’s the real win for India hockey.