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With India's historic bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games along with the women's team's best-ever finish which saw them miss a medal by the narrowest of margins, there will be more eyes on both these teams when they compete at the Commonwealth Games set to be played in Birmingham this year.
The countdown to the quadrennial competition has begun with only 37 days remaining for the start of the Games. Meanwhile, Hockey India have already announced a full-strength 18-member men's hockey squad that will feature in these games. Manpreet Singh will be back as the captain with Harmanpreet Singh chosen as his deputy.
Before we look at the Commonwealth Games 2022, here is how India's hockey teams fared in the previous editions of the tournament. Notably, Hockey has been part of these Games in every edition since 1998.
1. 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games
In the 1998 edition of the Commonwealth Games which were staged in Kuala Lumpur, India came close to bagging a medal and even tied the men's bronze medal match against England. However, the Indian side lost 4-2 on penalties to finish fourth. Even the women's team finished fourth. They were handed a 3-0 defeat by New Zealand in the Bronze medal fixture.
2. 2002 Manchester Games
The year 2002 was the Chak De India year. It was the women's hockey team that had not only participated but won the gold medal at this year's event. The team coached by Mir Ranjan Negi were the underdogs but defeated heavyweights like Australia and England on their way to the gold medal. Their incredible story inspired the story of a commercially and critically successfully Shah Rukh Khan film titled Chak de India which hit the theatres in 2007.
3. 2006 Melbourne Games
In 2006, the men's hockey team from India could not qualify for the medals round. However, the women's team did make up for that disappointment and backed their gold in 2002 with a silver medal after losing to Australia in the finals.
4. 2010 Delhi Games
Indian men's hockey team reached the 2010 finals and with the tournament happening in their home country it was expected that they will put up a good show against Australia. Even then Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh was in attendance for the match. However, the Indian side conceded 8 goals and could not even score one. It was a silver medal for the team but a heartbreaking defeat that continues to haunt passionate hockey lovers in India. The women's team had not managed to qualify for the medal round in this edition of the games.
5. 2014 Glasgow Games
In this edition of the Commonwealth Games, India once again reached the finals and had a chance to avenge their 2010 defeat as they were against the same opponents in Australia in the gold medal match. However, India lost 4-0 to settle for silver. Meanwhile, the women's team had failed to go beyond the preliminary round.
6. 2018 Gold Coast
In 2018, the men's team finished fourth after losing the bronze medal match to England 2-1. The women's team on this occasion did manage to proceed to the medal round but also lost the bronze medal match to England 6-0.
India's medal tally in Hockey at Commonwealth Games:
| Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| India | 1 (Women’s Team) | 3 (1 Women’s Team, 2 Men’s Team) | 0 | 4 |