India’s listless Hockey World Cup show sparks alarm

BENGALURU: If the eighth place in the FIH Pro League sounded the warning bells, the Indian men’s hockey team has done little to show they heard it.On Friday, India will play Belgium in the 7-8 classification match of the World Cup. Monday’s 3-5 defeat to Argentina summed up a campaign littered with familiar flaws. There have been moments of promise in Amstelveen, but they have been overshadowed by defensive lapses, poor decision-making and an attack that has often failed to convert pressure into goals. Craig Fulton has fought to keep the players Hockey India was looking beyond; the South African got what he wanted to prepare the team, but does not have much to show in terms of results.In five matches, India conceded 16 goals, while scoring 14, five of which were field goals. Off the 25 penalty corners earned, they converted seven, six of them by skipper Harmanpreet Singh.Former India player and coach Jagbir Singh was scathing in his assessment of the team’s performance. He questioned the way India has approached the post-Olympic transition. “We have to stick to the Olympic cycle and prepare teams. After the Olympics is the period when you need to look ahead and prepare a team that can go from one Olympic year to the next and then maybe extend it based on their performance. Which was not the case in this team. I don’t agree with a few selections, but it's all about the coach’s choice,” the 61-year-old explained. A “lack of consistency” was India’s biggest failing, said Jagbir.For most of their campaign, the Indian defence crumbled under pressure. “Experienced players like Hardik were short of ideas, and the defenders looked clueless. Against Argentina are the trickiest team, we didn’t have players to take care of their players who were making all the difference,” pointed out the former India player. He was particularly critical of India’s midfield. “Which team can survive without a strong midfield in hockey? Where was India’s midfield?”“We have a good midfield, but we didn’t even know what the transition of play was or how to attack from defence. Either we couldn't understand the coach's plan, or we couldn't adapt our strategy to the opponents,” he stated. The Indian team will have less than three weeks to pull their act together and head to Japan for the Asian Games, with an LA Olympics berth at stake for the defending champions.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.