Despite suffering a whitewash against Australia in a away hockey series last week,ace drag flicker and captain Harmanpreet Singh has excused confidence that India will have a podium finish at the Paris Olympics.

With 100 days to go for the start of the Paris Olympics, Harmanpreet said ” all in all, We are hungry, we are focused and ready to shine”

After clinching a Bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, India has now sets its sights on the ultimate prize: a Gold medal.

However Men-in-Blue face a formidable challenge. Standing in their pool B path are the reigning Olympic Champions Belgium (World No. 2), along with tough contenders like Australia (World No. 3), Argentina (World No. 7), New Zealand (World No. 10), and Ireland (World No. 12).

Securing at least a top-two finish in this pool is imperative to progress to the Quarter-Finals.

Meanwhile, Pool A comprises the world’s top-ranked team, Netherlands, alongside Germany, Great Britain, Spain, South Africa, and hosts France, setting the stage for an intense battle in the 12-team men’s hockey tournament at Paris .

India will begin their campaign on 27th July against New Zealand, followed by a match against Argentina on 29th July before facing Ireland and Belgium on 30th July and 1st August.

They will play their last group stage game against the mighty Australians on 2nd August.

“We just returned from the intense Australia tour, after a short break we will hit the grind again. With only 100 days to go until the Paris Olympics, the excitement in the team is growing.” Said Harmanpreet

” The unity of our team continues to grow, fuelled by our shared goal to clinch the Gold medal. Craig Fulton, our Chief Coach, keeps us on track with the Olympics countdown in our weekly schedule. Every day counts, every practice, every drill—it’s all building towards that moment on the Olympic stage. All in all, we’re hungry, we’re focused, and we’re ready to shine.” he added

Vice Captain Hardik Singh also chipped in saying, “The Australia test seies highlighted the areas that we need to improve and upon our return to camp we aim to make sure that we iron out any remaining issues well in time for the Paris Games ”

“We will give our best on each of the 100 remaining days to make sure that our pursuit for the Gold medal at the Olympics is successful.” he added