A historic second consecutive Olympic medal after a hiatus of five decades marked the resurgence of hockey in the country, which also witnessed the revival of the much-awaited Hockey India League (HIL) after seven years. The year also saw two of hockey’s biggest stars — PR Sreejesh and Rani Rampal — walk into the sunset after glorious careers.

The Harmanpreet Singh-led men’s team put in a splendid show at the Paris Olympics to secure a second successive bronze, that helped them match the feats of the sides of the 1968 Mexico City and 1972 Munich editions of the Summer Games.

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The medal was a perfect send-off to the legendary Sreejesh, one of thebiggest pillars of the Indian men’s team for nearly two decades, after he decided to hang his boots. Hockey India seized the opportunity by immediately appointing the star goalkeeper as head coach of the junior team.

The Indians displayed their fearless attitude throughout the Games and the win against Great Britain in the quarterfinals, with 10 men, was a testament to the players’ mental toughness. India played with a man less for nearly 43 minutes and eventually ended on the winning side in a shoot-out thanks to resolute defending and Sreejesh’s brilliance under the bar to progress to a second straight Olympic semifinals.

Before that, the Indians ended a 52-year wait by stunning the mighty Australians 3-2 in their final pool match. The victory was even more special for Harmanpreet’s side as it came against a side which mauled them 5-0 in a Test series Down Under earlier this year.

India’s hopes of reaching the Olympic final were dashed by Germany in a close contest but, within 24 hours, they regrouped and defeated Spain 2-1 to clinch another podium finish, marking the resurgence of the sport in the country.

India’s campaign in Paris saw the emergence of a number of rising stars contributing to the cause but it was the big names that made the difference in crunch situations. Harmanpreet and Sreejesh led from the front and set the bar high for the next generation of Indian hockey stars. While Sreejesh was as solid as ever in front of the post in his final hurrah, Harmanpreet was sturdy in the backline and ferocious with his drag flicks, finishing as the top scorer in Paris with 10 strikes from eight games.

Harmanpreet’s exploits throughout the year, especially in Paris, saw him bagging a third FIH Male Hockey Player of the Year award. Among women, young striker Deepika emerged as a bright spot in 2024 as she remains on course to be a potent drag flicker.

Retirements of Sreejesh & Rani Rampal

Amidst the euphoria of the second consecutive Olympic bronze, PR Sreejesh bid adieu to an emotional farewell from the team. Nicknamed ‘The Great Wall of Indian hockey’, Sreejesh’s contribution to the game puts him on the same pedestal as some of the yesteryear heroes of Indian hockey.

Having made his debut for the Indian national hockey team in 2006, PR Sreejesh has played 328 matches for his country. As a mark of respect to the legendary custodian, Hockey India permanently retired the No. 16 jersey that the 36-year-old Sreejesh donned throughout his India career.

In his nearly two-decade career, Sreejesh has been a part of two Olympic bronze medal-winning sides besides winning three Asian Games medals including two golds – at Incheon 2014 and Hangzhou 2022. He was also instrumental in guiding the national side win two Commonwealth Games silver medals – at Glasgow 2014 and Birmingham 2022. Sreejesh was decisive in India’s third-place finish at the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021-22.

Sreejesh was bestowed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021 and is only the second sportsperson from India to win the award of World Games Athlete of the Year in 2021. He has also won back-to-back FIH Goalkeeper of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

A few months later, former women’s team captain Rani Rampal announced her retirement from the sport, ending a glittering 16-year career during which she became an inspiration for beating abject poverty and conservative views at a small town in Haryana where her father worked as a cart-puller. The-29-year-old signed off as one of India’s most decorated hockey players after leading the women’s team to its best-ever finish at the Olympics — a fourth place at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

A clinical forward, who made her international debut in 2008 as a 14-year-old in the Olympic qualifiers that year, Rani scored 205 goals in her 254 outings for India. She was honoured with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2020 and was also a recipient of the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian award, in the same year.

Mixed year for women’s team

The Indian women’s team endured a low at the start of 2024 when it failed to qualify for the Paris Games through the Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi. This led to widespread changes in the team, with stalwart Harendra Singh taking over the coaching duties from Janneke Schopman.

But the year ended on a good note for both the men and women as they claimed the Asian Champions Trophy titles in Hulbuir, China and Rajgir, Bihar respectively.