Harmanpreet Singh could finally afford a smile as his 59th minute penalty stroke handed the Indian men’s hockey team a 4-3 win against hosts Belgium in Antwerp late on Sunday, ending a seven-match losing streak.
India had travelled to Europe late in May placed third in the FIH Pro League with a very good chance of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup — champions qualify for World Cup/Olympics. With Netherlands and Belgium having qualified as hosts and Australia making the cut as last edition’s winners, the Harmanpreet-led outfit had a solid chance of heading straight to Amstelveen and Wavre by just finishing fourth if not higher.
But bad luck in addition to last-minute nerves resulted in India’s worst campaign in Pro League history, finishing 8th in the elite nine-team league, just about escaping the ignominy of relegation into the Nations Cup. After winning five games and losing three in eight home games earlier, the Paris Olympics bronze medallists lost seven and won just one in the eight away games.
It wasn’t as if Indian forwards or the penalty corner (PC) battery didn’t score or convert their chances. Strikers Abhishek (6), Mandeep Singh (4), Sukhjeet Singh (5) and Dilpreet (3) were regularly among goals. Skipper Harmanpreet, as always, was a great threat and finished with 6 goals.
In four of the seven losses, India led the opposition. Against Australia, they were 2-0 ahead.
But what failed them was the defence, especially in the dying minutes despite the presence of seasoned campaigners like Harmanpreet, Amit Rohidas, Sumit among others.
An Achilles heel of old, India had looked to end the trend of giving away last-minute goals in the last Olympic cycle with chief coach Craig Fulton’s “defend to win” approach.
But, ironically, it was the backline that faltered again. In the seven away games India lost, the Fulton-coached side lost the game in the last quarter in six of them out of which four defeats came in the last five minutes.
“India was one of the most unlucky teams. They played pretty well barring the last minute goals where matches are very close,” Belgium head coach Shane McLeod said from Antwerp. “But let’s not forget that India have a gift — they play really well in tournaments of consequence like Olympics, Asia Cup, Asian Games. I also expect them to do well at the World Cup.
“I understand everyone wants results but with the development of the team, both can’t happen at the same time always. A lot also depends on the nature of the opposition and the stage of their development. Games open up as they progress. They will just need to be more focused (in the last few minutes). I am sure they will learn from this and defend well in future,” added McLeod, who led Belgium to the 2018 World Cup and 2021 Olympic titles.
Having missed this opportunity, it will be all to play for at the Asia Cup that will be held in Rajgir, Bihar, in August-September with the winner qualifying for the World Cup. Though India are undisputed kings of Asia — they are the holders of Asian Games and Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) — it isn’t going to be a cakewalk for the Harmanpreet led team which was given a tough fight by both Malaysia and China in the finals of the last two ACTs.
“The results have not gone as planned and it’s not that we have played badly. It hurts more when you play well but do not convert that into desired result,” India vice-captain Hardik Singh said from Antwerp.
“This is something we will introspect on. Our focus will be on finishing well, ensuring tighter defence and creating chances to score.”
