Indian men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh believes his side is capable of ending the country’s five-decade-long World Cup medal drought, saying the team heads into next month’s showpiece event with the same belief and preparation that helped it end a 41-year Olympic podium wait at the Tokyo Games.

India had snapped a Olympic medal drought by winning bronze in Tokyo in 2021 before repeating the feat under Harmanpreet’s captaincy at the Paris Games. The ace drag-flicker now wants the team to emulate that success at the World Cup, to be held in the Netherlands and Belgium from August 15 to 30. “We had similar feelings before the Tokyo Olympics. Our preparation is equally strong because our only goal is to end the 50-year World Cup podium drought. Just as we won an Olympic medal after 41 years, we want to break this World Cup medal drought as well. We will go in with the same mindset and the same preparation,” Harmanpreet said.