Hockey World Cup 2023: Five reasons for India's underwhelming performance

The Men in Blue were knocked out by New Zealand in the crossovers.

The wait for India to win the Hockey World Cup continues as the Men in Blue lost the Crossover game against New Zealand in sudden death. India were considered by many as one of the favourites to at least finish on the podium. However, things didn't pan out in this way as the team had an underwhelming performance.

So, let's take a look at what went wrong for the team and discuss the five main reasons behind it.

Being over-reliant on Hardik Singh

Hardik Singh has been one of India's best players if not the best in recent times. The midfielder acts as the focal point and in his performance against England, it was clearly visible. The No. 8 connects the defence of the team with the attack with his super passing and dribbles. However, in the game against England, Hardik suffered a hamstring injury.

In the absence of Hardik Singh, the midfield looked very weak. This was evident in matches against Wales and New Zealand where none of the other midfielders were able to control the game. The loss of Hardik Singh certainly played a major role in the performance of the team as there was no proper alternative.

Unable to finish games at right moment

The Indian hockey team before the start of the World Cup were considered a favourite for a podium finish. The team had been playing well for some time. However, in the World Cup, the Men in Blue were unable to finish games properly.

In the final group game against Wales and the crossover game against New Zealand, we saw how the team after being in a comfortable position were unable to make use of the grand easy opportunities to kill the game. This came to haunt them as they lost to New Zealand.

Lack of X-factor in team

The Indian team is full of good players. This was evident in the team's overall performance in the World Cup. However, one thing which the team lacked was an X-factor, a player who with his individual quality at a certain moment could change the game totally into his team's side.

Many teams have such players who with their individual talents at a certain point of the game totally change the game in their team's favour. These types of players help in regaining momentum as well as motivating the team. This results in all the other players of the team getting motivated and the team's game overall become better.

Questionable decision making

The performance of the Indian hockey team in the World Cup was below par. Many hoped that this could be India's year. However, the team and the team management as a whole failed to deliver.

All the players who are part of the team are good players but the decisions taken by the management were not up to the point. The team had 13 players from the squad that played in the Tokyo Olympics. The management's decision to trust the youth in the penalty shootout was a brave decision but it failed as it was too much for the young players. In these instances, a mixture of both the youth and experienced players could have been better.

Lack of plan B and game management

In every game that India played at the Hockey World 2023, they started off brilliantly. The Men in Blue were dominant and took the lead. They were in a tough group, but they still dominated.

However, the team faced difficulties in the latter parts of the games. In the final group game against Wales and in the crossover against New Zealand India took a comfortable lead but failed to capitalize. In both matches, the lead was eventually thrown away. Against New Zealand, when the Black Sticks had 10 players, India failed to exert added pressure and take full advantage of an additional man.

Moreover, although the defence was very strong, goalscoring opportunities came in plenty for the Black Sticks. It often seemed that coach Graham Reid had no plan B to turn to if things went out of hand.