CHENNAI: The men's team lost seven on the bounce. Coach Craig Fulton dropped the 'f' (the one that rhymes with duck) bomb on live TV ("we are not here to ducking lose..."). Senior pros made mistakes which wouldn't have been out of place in school hockey. One senior, Lalit Upadhyay, announced his retirement.
When they left for the European leg of the Pro League, the team had one agenda. Securing the World Cup berth on offer. When the dust settled, they finished ninth, just one spot above Ireland and relegation.
It's kind of fair to say their best laid plans didn't come to fruition. But there's two ways of looking at the last month or so they have had in Europe. The simplistic, more rudimentary way of looking at things is this. In an earlier era, losing seven on the bounce would have led to instant hand-wringing, doubts about the coach's position, why the men's team don't deserve patience... you get the drift. These days? There's more understanding as people have come to realise the context behind these games.
Sure, all matches, especially against high-quality opponents, are important. They give an insight into the current standing of the side. Within the context of this being a World Cup qualifier, they did lose an opportunity to seal a place but they are prohibitive favourites to win the Asia Cup in India in September. The team did have similar results against Australia before last year's Olympics but that didn't prevent them from medalling in Paris.
However, the other way of looking at these losses is slightly more concerning. For one, India will suffer in terms of ranking points. It could lead to problems when it comes to the World Cup draw ahead of next year's showpiece. Ranked inside the top-five for so long, the latest batch of results have seen them drop to No. 8 in the standings.
You can't even use the excuse of mixing and matching because this was a near full-strength Indian squad with not a lot of developmental players (a few of them are currently in the junior set-up ahead of this year's age-group World Cup in Tamil Nadu). The management wanted to take a lot of seniors because their stated aim was to seal the World Cup place. With two events in the next 16 months (World Cup and the Asian Games), results like these act as a wake-up call. In hindsight, mixing and matching would have been better as the inexperienced players may have got the taste of big-time hockey a few months before the junior World Cup.
The performances themselves weren't all that bad but some of India's best games under the South African have come when they have either kept a clean sheet or won by the odd goal in three. Across eight games in Europe, the Men in Blue conceded 26 times. That's not ideal for a coach who keeps talking about the importance of defending as a unit. It's something to keep an eye on as the team management and the selectors identify the players capable of delivering at the World Cup next year. One year out from the quadrennial event, the Indian team had the chance to build good memories in the venues hosting it. Now, they won't have that.
Threat of relegation
If the issues surrounding the men's team can be worked with, the women's team's problems seem to have compounded. They have lost five out of six (drawn one) and may well be relegated from the Pro League. If they finish bottom — they have two games remaining against fourth-placed China — they will find themselves in the Nations Cup, the second tier of world hockey, in 2026. That is not what Hockey India had in mind when Harendra Singh was brought on board.
It's fair to say that things have not worked out. Singh got his dragflickers to work with a specialist before the European leg began. However, that work hasn't translated to tangible results on the field (Singh had spoken about getting the importance of bio-mechanics with reference to dragflickers during the Indian leg of the event in February). They have struggled in both ends, as they have not converted enough attacking chances nor have they been solid at the back.
The Asia Cup in Hangzhou in September will be a World Cup qualifier but China are favourites for that. If the women don't win that, they will have to emerge from the World Cup qualifiers in early 2026.
Pakistan may feature at Asia Cup
It's learned that the neighbours may travel to India for the men's Asia Cup in August-September (while the hockey teams generally travel to India, there are doubts post Pahalgam). It's learned that stakeholders have impressed upon the government, at least informally, the importance of allowing Pakistan to these events on the backdrop of the country wanting to host events like the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics in the next decade or so.
European Leg of Pro League (India results): Men: Netherlands: lost 1-2, lost 2-3; Argentina: lost 3-4, lost 1-2; Australia: lost 2-3, lost 2-3; Belgium: lost 3-6, won 4-3.
Women: Australia: lost 2-3, lost 1-2; Argentina: lost 1-4, drew 2-2 (lost 0-2 on shootouts); Belgium: lost 1-5, lost 0-2.
The women's team will play two more matches on June 28 & 29 against China.