Meet Graham Reid: The Olympic medallist who led India’s men’s hockey revolution

Graham Reid, the head coach of the Indian men's hockey team, played a pivotal role in achieving one of the best campaigns for India at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Under his guidance, the Indian hockey team broke a 41-year medal drought by securing a bronze after beating Germany, marking a significant milestone in India's Olympic history.

Despite being winners of eight Olympic golds, one silver, and two bronze medals in the past, the Indian men's hockey team had struggled to make it to the semi-finals of any Summer Olympics since 1980. All that changed at Tokyo 2020.

At the Summer Games, India ended second in their group to enter the semis.  Though India lost to world champions Belgium, they recovered to win the bronze medal playoff against Germany. It reflected significant progress for the Indian men’s hockey team and at the heart of it was their head coach Graham Reid.

Who is Graham Reid?

Graham Reid was born on April 9, 1964, in Redcliffe City, Queensland in Australia. He is a former hockey player for the Australian national hockey team, where he played as a defender and midfielder at times. 

Graham Reid won the silver medal with the Australian hockey team at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics and was a part of four Champions Trophy-winning teams. He also has a bronze from the 1990 Hockey World Cup.

Intriguingly, the Australian has worked in industries as diverse as mining and credit insurance after his playing career.

However, Graham Reid is best known for his coaching exploits.

Reid’s first coaching assignment was with the Australian men’s team in 2009, when he was appointed assistant coach to the legendary Ric Charlesworth - who had briefly served as technical advisor to the Indian hockey teams. Graham Reid served as the assistant for five years.

When Charlesworth stepped down after the 2014 Commonwealth Games - where Australia beat India in the final to claim their fifth gold - Graham Reid was promoted to the top job.

Reid took Australia to the Rio 2016 Olympics - where they finished sixth after being eliminated by the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.

Graham Reid: coach of Indian hockey team

Graham Reid quit the Australian team post Rio 2016 and moved to the Dutch national men’s team to work as assistant to head coach Max Caldas and also worked as head coach of the Amsterdam Club in the Netherlands, for whom he had played earlier.

When the Indian men’s hockey team was looking for its next head coach in early 2019, Graham Reid was persuaded by his former mentor Ric Charlesworth to take up the position.

Graham Reid was confirmed as head coach of the Indian men’s team in April 2019. Almost immediately after appointment, Graham Reid started to instil an attacking philosophy and never-say-die attitude in the Indian men's hockey team.

Under his tutelage, the Indian men’s hockey team rose to its best-ever ranking of world No. 4.

Graham Reid has buoyed several youngsters like Dilpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Mandeep Singh and Varun Kumar into the team - all of whom impressed at the Tokyo Olympics.

A first Olympic medal since 1980 was a monumental moment for Indian sport and marked the end of a long wait for the country's hockey fan. The triumph at Tokyo, however, proved to be the peak of Graham Reid's tenure with the Indian team.

He helped India finish fourth at the 2021 Men's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup. Reid's record in the FIH Pro League is also solid, having led India to a fourth-placed finish in the 2020-21 season and a third place finish in the 2021-22 campaign.

The Aussie coach, however, stepped down from his position after a poor showing by the Indian senior team at the 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup in Odisha. He is the longest-serving foreign coach to have helmed the Indian men's hockey team.