THE last time the men's hockey team medalled at the World Cup (March 1975), Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Mizoram, among other states, were yet to be formed. The first edition of the men's cricket World Cup was still a few months away. India were still seven years away from celebrating the official launch of colour TV.
So, it's fair to say that history is against the men's team when they begin their World Cup campaign against Wales on their 80th Independence Day. However, even if history is against them, there is a window of opportunity to end this drought this time out in Belgium and the Netherlands.
This group of players under Harmanpreet Singh and Craig Fulton have repeatedly displayed what they are capable of on the biggest stages. As long as you can forget the 10 brain-melting minutes against New Zealand at the last quadrennial bash, the World No 8 are blessed with one of the greatest traits an elite tournament team can have: win the matches they ought to win. Even when they don't play particularly well, they still win those matches.
Their record against Asian teams is a case in point. By rankings, resources and style of hockey, they are far better than every other team on the continent. They have consistently backed that up with titles: Asian Games and Asian Champions Trophy (2023) and the Asia Cup (2025).
This trait of theirs has also extended to the Olympics in recent years. Against the Black Sticks at the Olympics, opponents they had at the last World Cup, they were very sluggish but still found a way to win 3-2 in a group game. Versus Ireland, a potential banana skin in the same Paris Games, they produced a polished 2-0 win.
That's just one of the many traits this side has. Undoubtedly, the biggest factor going around for them is their capacity to soak pressure and show character in the face of adversity, as they did against England in the quarterfinals of the last Olympics. They had a man sent off but won the game in a shootout. In elite modern hockey, it's unheard of for a team to prevail with 10 players.
Sure, the men's team haven't covered themselves in the last two editions of the Pro League, the top-tier international annual hockey tournament. In 2025, they finished second from bottom, having let in 38 times in 16 games. In 2026, they once again finished second from bottom thanks to an identical goals conceded record from matches played.
But there are mitigating factors. Like coach Craig Fulton told this daily in an interview a few days ago, international games so soon after the culmination of the Hockey India League have really challenged them. It's why both Fulton and Harmanpreet have pointed out their improved form in the second leg of the Pro League, especially this year. After a proper uninterrupted training block, they went to Europe and beat Germany, the Netherlands and Pakistan, apart from drawing England twice.
There's also a general feeling that this group raises its game when the stakes are dialled to 11. For example, Fulton's charges lost a bilateral series to Australia 0-5 a few months before the Paris Games. Much hand-wringing followed, but in the French capital, they won bronze.
This challenge, then, is the team's final frontier, so to speak. Paddy Upton, the team's mental conditioning guru who will be with the support staff for the entirety of the two weeks, said the team is well prepared. "They are in a very good space," the South African told The New Indian Express on Thursday night.
Over the last two weeks, the number doing the rounds in the Indian media is 51 years. That's how long they have gone without a World Cup medal. Has Upton addressed that number with the group of players? "We have spoken about the fact that it's been 51 years (since a medal)," he said. "We have spoken about the fact that at this World Cup, we have a very experienced team. "There are a lot of guys in that change room with over 100 international caps. I have told them that three of the most capped 10 players at this World Cup are in our squad. We know that we are going into the tournament with a long history of not raising the trophy, but we also know that we are going into the tournament as one of the most experienced sides."
That's one thing this side has in abundance running through its spine right from Harmanpreet at the back via the likes of Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh and Mandeep Singh up front. And the captain's role will be key. Because, for all the focus on field goals and penalty corner defence, it shouldn't be lost on anybody that when the captain shines from deadballs, India usually win. Even if they have the likes of Dilpreet Singh and Abhishek, their clearest path to goals is via the captain's stick.
Over the next two weeks, hockey will compete against badminton as well as cricket, two success stories. It's a space hockey hopes to occupy permanently. A successful World Cup will enable them to do that.