The International Hockey Federation (FIH) draw, which was made public on Monday, draws India into a tricky pool ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024.
The current FIH ranking places India (World No. 3) as the second-best hockey team in the world, behind Belgium (World No. 2). The 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalists, Australia (ranked sixth in the world), Argentina (7), New Zealand (10), and Ireland (11), are also included in pool B.
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The Netherlands (the top-ranked nation), Germany (4), Great Britain (5), Spain (8), the host nation, France (9), and South Africa (14) will make up pool A.
After earning a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, the Indian men’s hockey team was automatically qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The teams that booked tickets for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were divided into groups based on their individual FIH rankings as of January 21.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Indian men’s hockey team achieved a historic bronze medal.India won their first hockey medal in 41 years with this victory.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s hockey team will not be going to the 2024 Olympics in Paris after falling to Japan 0-1 in the Ranchi qualification event last week.