What has gone wrong for India in European leg of Men's FIH Pro League 2024-25?

The Indian men’s hockey team has lost all their six matches in the European leg of FIH Pro League.

The stage was set for a historic few days starting June 7. After the Bhubaneshwar leg of the FIH Men’s Pro League 2024-25, the Indian men’s hockey team were placed third on the table with 15 points from eight matches. They now had a realistic chance at winning their first ever Pro League title, if they were to put on a good showing in the second half of the campaign and thus secure a quota spot for the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026.

In eight days, that dream has come crashing down. India ended up losing six matches in a row and at the time of writing, are placed seventh on the table. The team will now have to secure qualification for the marquee tournament by winning the Asia Cup set to be held in Rajgir, Bihar later this year. If that doesn’t happen, they would have to bear the ignominy of playing the Qualifiers next year.

The pattern in each of the six defeats has been nearly the same. All of the defeats were by a deficit of one goal. In five of them, they had a lead at some point (in fact, Australia came back from 0-2 down to defeat the Men in Blue 3-2). There has also been just one encounter, where the Men in Blue didn’t concede any goal in the fourth quarter.

The setbacks might not seem comprehensive since their opponents have been some of the best teams in world hockey, especially when you look at just the scoreline, and indeed they weren’t. However, one would expect a lot better from a side which has managed to revive itself from the doldrums, winning two back-to-back Olympic medals.

The intensity seemed to go down after scoring as well as conceding a goal—the team has preferred to shut shop after taking a lead and has lacked the urgency to fight back after going down. Most of the star players have had an ordinary run. The cohesion has been missing, which is surprising considering they had a long preparatory camp in Bengaluru followed by three warm-up matches against Ireland.

Also Read: Men’s FIH Pro League 2024-25: Updated points table and top 10 goalscorers

Six losses in six games for a top team obviously implies that there have been shortcomings in every department: the forward line, the midfield and the defence. Some players have been really disappointing, while some have fared better.

Offensive unit misfires

The offensive unit, by far, were the most under-par. Just five field goals were scored in these six matches, with four of them coming from the stick of Abhishek. The Sonipat lad was at the centre of all creativity—from making brilliant runs to creating penalty corner chances to scoring with vicious shots. The rest, barring Shilanand Lakra to an extent, have been appalling.

A team which has taken pride in hitting through counters suddenly looks slow. There have also been numerous cases of both the near-post and far-post being vacant. Forwards are generally known for their poaching skills—the ability to be at the right place at the right time. It is fair to say that this display left a lot to desire.

Coach Craig Fulton is known for leaning towards experienced faces. However, the likes of Lalit Upadhyay and Mandeep Singh, who have had such huge contributions to the growth of Indian hockey previously, are clearly past their prime.

The former especially has been guilty of missing easy chances—from a one-on-one opportunity against Netherlands in the second match (which could potentially have been the winning goal) to a tap-in against Australia in the first fixture.

With the likes of Araijeet Singh Hundal and Uttam Singh set to join after their commitments with the junior team and the likes of Karthi Selvam and Sudeep Chirmako on the sidelines, a change looks imminent.

Penalty corner conversion rate continues to be a concern. The Men in Blue got a total of 21 opportunities but could only score from five of them. The team continues to be over dependent on Harmanpreet Singh. Jugraj Singh got more opportunities in the latter three games, with Harmanpreet being rested, but has scored the same number of goals as the skipper (2) from PCs.

He seems to have more power than the senior pro in every shot he takes, but has lacked the accuracy, often opting to target the upper half of the goal. Jugraj also failed to convert from a penalty stroke in the second match against Argentina.

Midfield might need refreshing

India did fare better in the remaining two facets. While there were a number of avoidable goals conceded from silly errors, they stood tall against some lethal attacking units, denying them clear cut scoring opportunities. What would worry them, though, is the number of late goals given away.

The team has historically shown a tendency to lose shape in the closing phases of matches and have been unable to withstand pressure generated by waves of attacks. On an individual level, there is still a lot of scope for improvement, even for seniors like Harmanpreet and Amit Rohidas.

The returns of the midfield too have been fluctuating. Hardik Singh was shockingly out of form. Jarmanpreet Singh has been off his mark too, but the biggest disappointment has been four-time Olympian Manpreet Singh. He was shoddy with his tackling, losing possession multiple times and also wasted a couple of developing opportunities in the final third.

The others, including Vivek and Sumit, did do a better job. In general, the unit did create a fair number of opportunities for their forwards apart from containing opposition units. However, the lethargy at a number of occasions was a letdown.

In the Amsterdam leg (which includes the first four matches), even the goalkeepers did make a few soft errors. The coach acted pro-actively on this, switching from the usual strategy of alternating quarters to having Suraj Karkera as the sole custodian in the first match against Australia and Krishan Bahadur Pathak in the second.

That did bear fruit, as both pulled off some crucial saves, keeping the side in the match. With both having a lot of experience in top-flight tournaments, they should be back at their best soon.

What next for Indian men’s hockey team

India, who started off at the fifth spot in the rankings, have dropped two rungs. They now face nemesis World Number #3 Belgium on Saturday and Sunday to conclude the season. Out of the reckoning to clinch a World Cup spot, there is no visible incentive to win now.

Nevertheless, they would desperately want to end this rut. This is a team which has really raised their bar over the last few years and have gathered a lot of expectations, every time they take the pitch.

Thus, it hurts every hockey fan to see the current state of affairs, especially considering the team hasn’t been too bad but has just failed to seize the crucial moments. The improvement was visible when the team took the field against Australia in Antwerp. However, one knows that India is far from reaching their potential. Can Craig Fulton’s men finally fire together, against his former side?

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