Olympics-India defend for the win to fulfil hockey gold dream

FILE PHOTO: Commonwealth Games - Men's Hockey- Pool B - India v Ghana - University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash centre, Birmingham, Britain - July 31, 2022 India's Singh Manpreet in action with Ghana's Christopher Dogbe REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - India broke a 41-year medal drought in Olympic men's hockey with a bronze in Tokyo three years ago, triggering hopes that a ninth gold medal for the once dominant power in the sport might be on the cards in Paris.

The majority of India's titles were won in a different era, when the game was played on grass pitches, often after soccer matches, and neighbours Pakistan were also a medal-winning force.