Why is FIH Pro League 2025-26 crucial for Indian hockey after lacklustre show in 2024-25?

Having finished second from bottom in the previous edition, the Indian team lost all four of their matches in Rourkela.

How a team should strategize for the FIH Pro League has always been a topic for discussion. The reason being that it has a unique schedule, with a double round robin format in a clustered caravan format over a span of more than seven months.

What the tournament provides though, is a golden chance to play against the top ranked teams in the world. Many sides, hence, look at this as an opportunity to experiment, and settle their combinations and structures ahead of bigger assignments.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) recognized this as a loophole and decided to incentivize winning the tournament.

After offering a World Cup slot in the previous editions, the 2025-26 is set to offer an LA2028 Olympics quota place to the winner of the tournament.

It was always going to be interesting to see how much the Indian men’s hockey team would value this, when they took the field in Rourkela.

The Paris Olympics bronze medalists had a poor season last time, finishing second from bottom, with six wins and ten losses. The European leg was especially shocking, as they ended up losing seven consecutive matches.

Also Read: Men’s FIH Pro League 2025-26: India’s schedule, fixtures, results, live streaming details

A good start in the 2025-26 edition was the need of the hour. However, it was anything but that as the team ended up losing all four of their matches at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela- two each against Belgium and Argentina.

The first encounter against Argentina was one of India’s worst displays in a long time, as they ended up losing 0-8: their joint-highest margin of defeat ever. Over the last pattern, a worrying pattern has emerged, one which has troubled them in the past too.

A leaky defense, wasteful forward line, slow starts and a disappointing body language overall has been a common trait in all of the four matches. The scorelines testify the same.

Before they can catch their breath, they would be up against Spain and Australia at the Tasmania Hockey Centre in Hobart, with a turnover time of less than a week.

4⃣ Matches 4⃣ DefeatsIndia's FIH Pro League 2025-26 campaign started on a disastrous note at home! 😢 pic.twitter.com/0JOh4axIJG

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) February 16, 2026

Here is where India would be at crossroads. Winning an Olympic quota place early on could be a huge boon, to avoid unnecessary hassle early on. However, looking at the current form, achieving that looks impractical.

The Pro League now offers them a chance to continue testing out names; those who excelled during the recently concluded edition of the Hockey India League. The management does seem to have the intent to try out a few new players, with the likes of Manmeet Singh, Rosan Kujur and Amandeep Lakra having debuted in Rourkela.

Workload management and bench strength will be key, with the FIH World Cup and the Asian Games (which offers an Olympic quota too) scheduled back-to-back later this year.

Thus, the Pro League provides a good platform to test out the stamina and intensity of the team, rather than suffering a slump during marquee tournaments.

A good showing in Hobart is crucial for more than one reason. Firstly, the side would be looking to gain some momentum after some ordinary performances and look to push themselves back up the rankings.

Secondly, seniors like Harmanpreet Singh have been going through a lean patch for a long time now. It is imperative for them to find form soon; else the team wouldn’t stand a chance of a podium finish at the World Cup.

A number of youngsters, who found a space in the squad over the last twelve months or so, were found wanting too and would look to cement their spot. Opportunities are rare in a country consisting of 1.4 billion people and they need to be grabbed.

It is not unknown to anyone that strong performances provide players security—the kind of mental peace they need to excel in global events.

On paper, India are one of the best teams in the world. If they can display consistency, which they have been bereft of for a long time, they could be very well pull the results back in their favour.

They would want to prove that the recent performances were nothing but an anomaly. For it doesn’t bode well for a side, with the history and caliber which India has, to experience a rut for too long.

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