Speaking to the media on the subject of India's chances of earning medals in the sport at the next two Summer Olympics Nath said: "I want to assure you that if not the Paris Olympics, India will surely win a gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics", as reported by Sports Keeda.

"If they don’t, you can come back to me."

The Indian men’s bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, earned through a 5-4 win over Germany, secured them a place on the podium for the first time in 41 years.

The Indian men’s team has won eight Olympic gold medals in all, six of them consecutively from 1928 to 1956, with additional victories at the Tokyo 1964 and Moscow 1980 Olympic Games.

A low point was reached in 2008 when they failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, and four years later in London they finished 12^th and last.

Nath’s optimism springs not just from the team’s performance in Tokyo, but from a series of measures Hockey India is putting in place to support the team and the sport.

First on the list for Nath, a former player and coach, is ensuring that India's junior team is getting appropriate international exposure.

"So far, there were only nationals for the under-17 and under-18 sides," he said.

"But now, they will also have international tournaments against top junior sides in the world.

"The shortlisted kids at the junior level will be selected for a national camp from August 20 in Rourkela.

"We also have some grassroots programmes for our junior teams.

"We have their zonal tournaments, and many more such junior tournaments are expected to start.

"We will also have a junior national tournament, and the players selected there will get proper training as the senior team."

Hockey India is also planning to provide the senior Indian national team with more international opportunities in the months leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Another major item on Nath's list to help India's gold medal prospects is reviving the Hockey India League (HIL).

"The groundwork for its revival is more or less complete, and you will see it soon," Nath said.

"We have handed letters to the existing HIL franchises.

"We have asked them if they want to stay or not.

"It’s a technical matter.

"A team from Odisha is most likely to come in.

"If the other franchises want to continue, we are more than happy."