New Delhi: Four matches, four losses and 19 goals conceded with only five scored.
It’s well known that Pro League hockey has become a glorified experimental tournament but by no means does that mean any team can lose and only worry about tournaments of consequence. India didn’t just lose, but were hammered in Rourkela last week.
After losing 1-3 to table-toppers Belgium, they were humiliated 0-8 by Argentina. They lost to the teams by an identical 2-4 margin again.
“Home defeats always hurt more, because there’s an expectation,” said chief coach Craig Fulton. “Any team that plays at home wants to win. The frustration is real.”
Last season too India lost seven away games on the trot but in none of them were they not competitive. Last week’s losses are, however, worrisome given the nature of the losses.
India’s defence seemed invisible despite having skipper Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas and Jugraj Singh. The seasoned defenders seemed lost, as if they had forgotten the basics of hockey.
Argentina scored six goals in the space of eight minutes in their 8-0 triumph — India’s joint worst defeat in terms of goal difference.
The inability to arrest the slide also saw Belgium, not prolific scorers, pump in four goals in seven minutes in their 4-2 victory. It was hard to believe the drop in standard of the 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medallists.
“It was a bad week. There were a lot of counterattacks which were given away by our players. Controlling them would have seen a different scoreline. Collectively the whole team should step up,” said former India defender VR Raghunath.
“It’s good that these performances came in the Pro League rather than the World Cup. They have time to rectify the mistakes. Match management skills should be really high in the coming days.”
Since primary goalkeeper Krishan Pathak was ‘rested’, the onus fell on Suraj Karkera and Pawan. Both failed miserably. They conceded 19 goals, an average of 4.75 per match.
“The areas we have to really work hard on are goalkeeping and defence. The soft penalty corners (PC) we gave away proved to be expensive,” said former chief coach Harendra Singh, who was till recently the women’s team coach.
“Since seasoned players like Manpreet (Singh), Dilpreet (Singh) and Pathak were not there, the coach tried some new players. So, there will be gaps.”
A major concern was the out-of-sync midfield and the lack of firepower during scoring opportunities. The link between the midfield and forward line was missing. Neither was Hardik Singh able to show his fluidity nor was Abhishek able to put the ball across the line in the few chances he got.
Perhaps the biggest worry was the form and fitness of primary drag-flicker Harmanpreet, top-scorer in the Paris Olympics. He wasn’t fast enough in defence, lacked firepower during PCs and missed multiple penalty strokes.
With the World Cup (August) and Asian Games (Sept-Oct) approaching, Fulton will need a core of 22-24 players for which he is trying out new faces — Amandeep Lakra, Manmeet Singh and Rosan Kujur made their debuts. However, it is worrying because the core was the same.
This is where European teams have an advantage India doesn’t have. Coaches in Europe constantly scout for talent from their leagues that last nine months a year. Youngsters play with and against Dutch, Belgian, German, Argentine, Spanish and Australian players, getting the exposure to understand systems from an early stage, helping them to perform straightaway for national teams. Indian players do not have that luxury. “Our trials take place only during tournaments,” said Harendra.
The Indian squad are on a 35-hour journey from Rourkela to Hobart, where they will play the next leg against Spain and hosts Australia (two games each) from February 21 to 25.
“We are in discovery to find out what we need to compete in the World Cup and Asian Games. Not the results (in Pro League) we wanted. I just don’t think we were that sharp in front of goal. We were not winning enough corners and getting enough chances,” said Fulton.
“We’re not where we want to be, but I know what they can do. There are a lot of things we can do a lot better. Trust me, I don’t want to be here, in terms of the results. But judge us when everything is in sync.”
