India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, with a lone athlete Norman Pritchard winning two medals – both silver – in athletics and became the first Asian nation to win an Olympic medal. The nation first sent a team to the Summer Olympic Games in 1920 and has participated in every Summer Games since then. India has also competed at several Winter Olympic Games beginning in 1964. Indian athletes have won 35 medals, all at the Summer Games. For a period of time, the Indian Men's Field Hockey Team was dominant in Olympic competition, winning eleven medals in twelve Olympics between 1928 and 1980. The run included eight gold medals of which six were won consecutively from 1928 to 1956.
Field hockey in India refers to two teams, the India men's national field hockey team and the India women's national field hockey team.
India men's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey competitions, and is governed by Hockey India. The team was formerly under the control of Indian Hockey Federation. India was the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation.
The Indian women's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey, and is governed by Hockey India. Nabhvarna are currently ranked 6th in the FIH World Rankings, and are ranked as the best team in Asia. They have won the gold medals at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and 1982 Asian Games. They have also won the Women's Asia Cup twice, i.e. in 2004 and 2017. They also won the Asian Champions Trophy 2016 and 2023.
Sardara Singh, sometimes referred as Sardar Singh, is an Indian field hockey coach and former field hockey player. He also served as the captain of the Indian national team. He usually plays the center half position. Sardara became the youngest player to captain the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015. On 13 July 2016, the responsibilities of the captain were handed over from him to P. R. Sreejesh, the goalkeeper of Indian Team. On 12 September 2018, Sardara announced his retirement from international hockey. He played 314 matches during 12 years in his career.
Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian field hockey player from Kerala who plays as a goalkeeper and former captain of the Indian national team.He is regarded as the World's best goal keeper of his generation. He plays in the Hockey India League for Uttar Pradesh Wizards. Sreejesh played a vital role in the Indian national team's bronze medal win at the 2020 Summer Olympics men's field hockey tournament. He won FIH Player of the Year Awards (2020–21) for best male goalkeeper. Since winning gold in 2014 Asian Games he won gold medal again in 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. He won a total of 16 international medals in his career until 2023 from Olympics, FIH Hockey World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Asian tournaments combined.
Rani Rampal is an Indian field hockey player and coach. At the age of 15, she was the youngest player in the national team which participated in the 2010 World Cup. She has completed her schooling but was not able to get the graduate degree due to practice sessions and matches which were lined up. She plays forward on her team. She has played 212 international matches and scored 134 goals. She is currently the Captain for Indian Women's Hockey Team. She is also well known as a striker who often doubles up as mid-fielder. She has a great fascination with CWG. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri.
Deepa Malik is an Indian athlete. She started her career at the age of 30. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games and won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in shot put. She also won gold in the F-53/54 Javelin event at the para athletic Grand Prix held in Dubai in 2018. She is currently the world number one in the F-53 category. She has won accolades for her participation in various adventure sports. She is associated with Himalayan Motorsports Association (H.M.A.) and Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (F.M.S.C.I.). She has undertaken an 8-day, 1,700-km drive in sub-zero temperatures which included a climb to 18,000 feet (5,500 m). It was – Raid De Himalaya. This journey covers many difficult paths including remote Himalayas, Leh, Shimla and Jammu.
India competed at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, from 19 September to 4 October 2014. After 16 years India won the gold medal in Asian Games men's hockey tournament, and consequently earned a direct berth to the 2016 Summer Olympics hockey tournament.
Vandana Katariya is an Indian field hockey player. She plays as a forward in the Indian national team. Vandana rose to prominence in 2013, being India's top goal-scorer in the 2013 Women's Hockey Junior World Cup, where India won a bronze medal; she scored five goals in the tournament, the third by any player.
Sakshi Malik is a former Indian freestyle wrestler. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg category, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics. She is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program, along with fellow female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat.
Rupinder Pal Singh is a professional field hockey player, who represents India in the Indian Hockey Team. He plays as a fullback and is known for his abilities as one of the best drag flickers in the world. He represented India in the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, 2016 Olympic Games held at Rio de Janeiro, and at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, held at Gold Coast, Australia. He was part of the Indian hockey team that won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
India competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Indian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics since 1920, although they made their official debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Savita Punia is an Indian field hockey player and is a member of the India women's national field hockey team. She hails from Haryana and plays as the goalkeeper. Savita Punia is also known as "Great Wall of India" because of her phenomenal and outstanding performance in 2020 Summer Olympics.
Namita Toppo is an Indian former field hockey player. She hails from Sundargarh District of Odisha. On 27 December 2020, she was conferred with the 28th Eklavya award. Toppo was honoured for her performance from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020 at both national and international levels.
Lilima Minz is an Indian female field hockey player. Lilima hails from Bihabandh-Tanatoli village, Lanjiberna Block, Sundargarh District of Odisha. She is a product of Sports Hostel, Panposh, Rourkela, Odisha.
Deepika Thakur is an Indian field hockey player and is currently the most senior and highest capped player of Indian women's Team. She plays as a Defender in the senior team and has represented India over 200 outings and has scored 24 goals.
India competed at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, from 18 August to 2 September. Neeraj Chopra was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony while Rani Rampal was named as the flag bearer for the closing ceremony.
India competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. India has appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics since 1920, although it made its official debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. The nation sent its largest-ever contingent of 126 competitors to the 2020 Games. To date, the 2020 Summer Olympics are the most successful Games for India since its first regular Olympics appearance in 1920, with Indian Olympians winning 7 medals. The Indian contingent participated in a record 69 events, and earned medals across 18 athletic disciplines.
Krishan Bahadur Pathak is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a goalkeeper for the Indian national team.
