The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international sports competitions, and managing Indian teams at these events. It goes with the name of Team India. It also acts as the Indian Commonwealth Games Association, responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Commonwealth Games.
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. It is one of the most popular sports in India, as it is one of the major team sports in which India has been historically successful.
India has a history of sports dating back to the Vedic period, with Western sports having been imported during British rule. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport; it generates the highest television viewership, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) being the most-followed league in the country. Football has also gained popularity, with the Indian Super League (ISL) being the highest level of domestic football, and the national team winning multiple gold medals at the Asian and South Asian Games. Additional football accomplishments include India having reached the Groupstage of the 1960 Olympics, qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and won the SAFF Championship. Other sports include kabaddi, badminton, tennis, and athletics, with kho-kho becoming the fourth-most viewed sport. India has also had success in field hockey, winning the World Cup and multiple medals in the Olympic Games. Sports such as golf, rugby, boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, motorsport, wrestling, and basketball are featured throughout the country.
Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian former field hockey player. He was the captain of the national team and played as a goalkeeper. Since 2024, he is the head coach of the India men's national U-21 team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goal keepers in the history of field hockey. Sreejesh played a vital role in the Indian national team's bronze medal wins at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, popularly known as PV Sindhu, is an Indian badminton player. Considered one of India's most successful sportspersons, Sindhu has won medals at various tournaments such as the Olympics and on the BWF circuit, including a gold at the 2019 World Championships. She is the first and only Indian to become the badminton world champion and only the second individual athlete from India to win two consecutive medals at the Olympic Games. She rose to a career-high world ranking of No. 2 in April 2017.
Rani Rampal is an Indian coach and former field hockey player. At the age of 15, she was the youngest in the national squad of the 2010 World Cup. She played as a forward. In her career, Rampal played 212 international matches and scored 134 goals. She also acted as a striker and doubled up as mid-fielder. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri.
Mirabai Chanu is an Indian weightlifter. She won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the Women's 49 kg event. She has won gold medals at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games. She was awarded the Padma Shri and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna by the Government of India in 2018.
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. In 2017, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award and in 2024, she became the first Indian wrestler to feature in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program, along with fellow female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat.
Deep Grace Ekka is an Indian former field hockey player, who represented the India national field hockey team. She has been selected for Arjun award in 2022.
Manpreet Singh Pawar is an Indian field hockey player and a four time Olympian from Punjab. He led the Indian field hockey team to the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He plays as a halfback.
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a forward for the India national team. He was a member of the Indian team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games. He won the gold medal with the Indian team at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
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.
Varun Kumar is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a defender for Punjab Warriors in the Hockey India League and the Indian national team.
Gurjant Singh is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a Forward.
Shanglakpam Nilakanta Sharma is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a midfielder for the Indian national team.
Amit Rohidas is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a defender. He also served as the vice-captain of the Indian national team. He was a part of the Indian squad that won the bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou and the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Vivek Sagar Prasad is an Indian field hockey player from Madhya Pradesh and a two-time Olympian bronze medalist. He plays as a midfielder for the Indian national team. He is a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics and won his second bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics at Paris.
Krishan Bahadur Pathak is an Indian field hockey player and the goalkeeper for the Indian national team.
Abhishek Nain known mononymously as Abhishek, is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a forward. He is a part of the national team since 2022. Nain plays for Rarh Bengal Tigers in the Hockey India League.
Sanjay Rana, known mononymously as Sanjay, is an Indian hockey player who plays as a defender. He is also one of the second drag flickers for the Indian team which won gold medal in 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. He is selected to represent India in the 2024 Summer Olympics at Paris.
