Leading up to Rio next year, Indian sports fans will keep a close eye on hockey – a sport that has promised but never delivered at the Olympics since Moscow 1980.
The proud associated with eight Olympics medals and an unbeaten run from 1928 to 1956 is slowly withering away. The argument that a switch from natural to artificial grass has killed Indian hockey is gaining strength with every failure. But such is India's heart-to-heart relation with the sport that hope never dies.
That has kept the sport and the people's love for it alive and kicking.
Every big tournament gives birth to renewed dreams, every big win lifts Indian spirits, every major achievement flashes an Olympic medal before the eyes – maybe not gold, but a return among the medals at the Games after 35 long years.
On the road to Rio and carrying a similar promise, the Indian men's hockey team's next stop is Antwerp in Belgium, for the FIH Hockey World League (HWL) semi-finals.
But unlike on most previous occasions leading up to an Olympic year, the team is without a familiar excess baggage.
India have already qualified for the Olympics.
The two HWL semi-final tournaments also double up as Olympic qualifiers, but India, by virtue of being the Asian Games champions, have a Rio ticket secured in their back-pocket.
That's a worrisome monkey off India's back, and it provides enough room for coach Paul van Ass and captain Sardar Singh to experiment and find ways to become more consistent in terms of beating big teams. Plus, as hosts of the HWL Finals later this year, they are there as well irrespective of what happens at Antwerp semis.
Talking about beating big teams, the Indians, under former coach Terry Walsh, went to beat Australia in Australia before clinching the Asian Games gold and a Rio berth at Incheon, South Korea, where they beat Pakistan in the final.
That was when hockey re-ignited hopes of a revival and lifted them further by reaching the semi-finals of the 2014 Champions Trophy where a loss to Pakistan offered a reality check. Pakistan's obscene celebrations only added salt to the wound that the defeat inflicted.
At Antwerp, the two rivals will once again cross swords.
Ninth-ranked India will be in the tougher Pool A, rubbing shoulders with world No. 1 Australia, arch rivals Pakistan, the dangerous Poland and unpredictable France, who will be their opening opponents on June 20.
The Aussies have fielded an experienced squad since they have Olympics and HWL Finals qualification on the line. The Kookaburas line-up will be a mirror image of the squad that won the 2014 World Cup and Commonwealth Games gold. 13 players who were part of those winning campaigns in Netherlands and Scotland, respectively, will be present in Belgium as well.
India, though, will face Australia last in their pool fixtures. First up will be 18th-ranked France, followed by Poland (June 23), Pakistan (june 26) and Australia (June 28). Top four teams from the two pools qualify for the quarter-finals.
Pool B consists of hosts Belgium, Great Britain, Malaysia, Ireland and China, who will do well to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament leaving one of their much experienced opponents behind.
No points for guessing that of India's four pool encounters, the showpiece event will be the match against Pakistan, who are ranked just behind India at No. 10. Teams ranked 1 to 11 earn a direct entry into HWL semi-finals.
Pakistan surprised many by claiming silver at Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar last year, more so because they finished bottom of their pool in that tournament. They beat the Netherlands in the quarters and hosts India in the semis to reach the summit clash, where they lost to Germany.
By beating India, the Pakistanis avenged their defeat in the Asian Games final, which denied Pakistan a direct entry into Rio Olympics. That will be at the back of their mind, adding to the pressure that a game against India brings with it.
Poland and France, ranked 17th and 18th respectively, are two of the most improved teams in world hockey. They are the two qualifiers from Round 2 of the HWL. While Poland ended that stage in second place in Singapore, France clinched the Round 2 tournament in Cape Town.
An Olympic qualification will go a long way in the history of Polish and French hockey; but it will be a far-fetched dream with some heavyweights in the fray in Antwerp.
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