Rewind 2024: Historic Paris bronze marks resurgence of Indian hockey; HIL returns

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.

- TRIDIB BAPARNASH

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.

The medal was a perfect send-off to the legendary Sreejesh, one of the biggest 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.