Two-time Olympic medallist hockey midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad is drawing inspiration from his mentor, Ashok Kumar, to break India’s 51-year medal drought at the Hockey World Cup.
India’s last World Cup medal, a gold in 1975, came when Ashok’s decisive goal sealed a memorable 2-1 victory over Pakistan in the final, and Vivek is relying on his mentor’s advice to “create goals” in the quadrennial showpiece to be co-hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium from August 15 to 30. “He (Ashok) simply told me that creating goals is more important than scoring goals,” Vivek told PTI in an interview.
“Since I play in midfield, he asked me to focus on building attacks and becoming the architect of goals. He also said that in a World Cup you have to anticipate situations, study your opponents’ positioning and plan your moves accordingly.” Ashok, who was also part of India’s bronze-winning team in 1971 and silver-medal side in 1973, spotted a young Vivek during a local tournament in Akola in 2013 and brought him to his academy in Bhopal.
“I learnt every nuance of the game from him. Whether it was practice, fitness or handling pressure, he guided me throughout. He never allowed me to lose focus,” said the 26-year-old, who has scored 22 goals in 194 international appearances.
Vivek understands the importance of breaking the World Cup medal jinx, and said the current generation of players are determined to script a new chapter in Indian hockey in the upcoming edition.
“We have been hearing stories about the 1975 World Cup winners since childhood. Whenever I speak to senior players, they say lifting the World Cup trophy is a feeling unlike any other,” he said.
“Our target is a podium finish. Over the last few years, we have broken many barriers — winning an Olympic medal after 41 years, consistently defeating top teams and proving that we belong among the best. We carry that belief into this World Cup.” Vivek said the team has tried to build a winning mindset rather than merely aiming for respectable performances.
“Before the Tokyo Olympics, the senior players told us not to think about the 41-year medal drought. We went there with only one objective — to win a medal, not just become Olympians,” he said.
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“Now it is our responsibility to pass on those experiences to the younger players. We haven’t won a World Cup medal for 50 years, but we see that as responsibility, not pressure.” The midfielder believes India has the quality to challenge any side but said no they can’t take any opponent lightly in a competition of this stature.
“History belongs to the past. If we perform well now, we can create our own history. We will prepare match by match, analyse every opponent and, above all, play to our strengths because there are no weak teams in the World Cup.” Vivek also dismissed concerns over the demanding schedule, with just three weeks separating the World Cup and the Asian Games, which is an Olympic qualifying tournament.
“Our fitness levels are among the best. We have prepared well and are confident of sustaining our performance in both the tournaments. We have won back-to-back tournaments before,” he said.
“The Yo-Yo test benchmark was 21, and the entire team achieved it. We also recorded excellent scores in the 16-lap baseline test, which reflects the work everyone has put into fitness.”
Published on Jul 29, 2026
