Indian Hockey Is Poised For Ultimate Glory In 2028 Olympics: David John

Panchkula
Former India High-Performance Director David John believes that the Indian hockey team will peak in the 2028 Olympics, giving itself its best shot in several years at a gold medal. In the 2024 and 2028 Games, most in the squad will be our current junior World Cup players. They would have played close to 300 Internationals together by then and would be about 30 years each, he pointed out on the sidelines of a Khelo India Youth Games match, suggesting that the team would have the right experience to absorb any kind of pressure.
Indian hockey has shown signs of a heart-warming resurgence, with the men winning a bronze and the women finishing a valiant fourth in the Tokyo Games recently. These are exciting times for India but many squads – including Germany, Australia, Belgium and Holland – are also getting better, David warned.
The High-Performance Director David, who had been with Team India for several years before resigning, is back in the country as Odisha’s Director of Hockey. He is excited with his assignment, especially as he has the complete support of the sport-loving Chief Minister of the state, Naveen Patnaik. “It is a challenging role. But if Odisha becomes strong, Indian hockey becomes strong, both in men and women,” he explained, confirming that his goal and brief was to make his team Number 1 in the country.